


Out of the Ash I rise

by snowspriestess



Series: Multichapters [4]
Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, set in the past basically, zelda and faustus are still students at the academy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-06 08:43:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 62,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16829083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowspriestess/pseuds/snowspriestess
Summary: out of the ash I rise, with my red hair and I eat men like air;AU where not Edward but Zelda is the gifted one in the Spellman family and her and Faustus race for the spot of High Priest.





	1. I put a Spell on You

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this is basically young zelda and faustus meeting at the academy and eventually both wanting to be high priest or priestess, but the story starts way before that. i don't really have a plot yet but we'll see <3

It was the first day of the semester, and Zelda was already now awfully bored. This Academy of Unseen Arts looked dreadful, and if it had not been for her nagging brother Edward she never would have transferred here in the first place.

She had been spending her last ten years of education in various European cities, from Paris to Barcelona to London, having left right after her Dark Baptism. Now that she had returned to Greendale it all seemed small and tedious and boring, compared to the atmosphere of the European capitals. She had never liked the city anyway, memories of her childhood being much too present.

Besides here she was under the eyes of her brother, who liked nothing more but controlling her every move to make sure she would do nothing out of the ordinary. In Europe she had been free to do whatever she liked, with whoever she liked.

Now she was back living at the Spellman residency, with not only her brother but also her little sister, who had just started her first year at the Academy of Unseen Arts too. That would make everything even more dreadful. It was pain enough to live in the room next to hers, seeing her at school was even worse.

The only thing she was looking forward to were her classes, since she would be able to take conjuring or demonology with her brother since she had studied them abroad already and was therefore not technically a ‘first year’, who were not allowed in those seminars. Which was for the best, judging by the fact that Hilda could not even cast a single spell without messing it up.

Edward had insisted on walking with Zelda to their first class, although she would have rather not been stuck with her big brother at her heels. Besides binding rituals was not something she was too keen on anyway, and she would have gladly skipped it for something more fun. But that was not possible anymore, not under the watchful eyes of Edward Spellman.

Her brother had developed that attitude ever since their parents had passed, their father having been High Priest of the Church of the Night for almost a century. After his death a temporary replacement had been found, but the real heir was still to be discovered. Everyone was betting on Edward, naturally, and that had made him quite a bit cocky she had noticed.

They arrived at the classroom, Zelda already now wanting to leave. “I can not believe your making me go to this school”, she muttered in Edward’s direction, sitting down at the chair next to him and crossing her legs.

He rolled his eyes at her, opening his books. “The Academy of Unseen Arts has an impeccable reputation, Zee”, he replied, eyes scanning the page he had opened.

Just in this moment the door opened, and someone else entered. It was a guy of Edward’s age, maybe a few years older, with raven black hair and eyes of the same dark colour. He was looking at her brother first, but then his glance instantly shifted over to Zelda.

“Edward”, he noted, although never looking at him.

Her brother looked up, smiling slightly. “Faustus.” He gave his sister a quick glance. “Zelda, this is Faustus Blackwood.”

She smiled charmingly, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. That always did the trick.

“Nice to meet you”, she purred, just because it was so amusing to see her brother squirm.

“She’s my sister”, he quickly added, as if to prove a point. Or to say _hands off._

Faustus sat down next to her as expected, and she could swear Edward was sighing quietly. “I never knew you had another sister”, Faustus remarked, eyes never leaving her. There was a certain depth to them which almost made it easy to get lost in them.

She gave her best not to stare too obviously. “I used to study in Europe”, she explained, a smooth smile still lying on her lips. There was something about him which made her uneasy, but not in a bad way. It was more so exciting, thrilling. His aura was almost dangerous, a certain darkness swaying around him.

“Where exactly in Europe?” he followed up, not seeming genuinely interested in the topic, but rather searching for something to uphold the conversation. His eyes were sparkling.

She bit her lip, still playing with her hair. “Different places. Last I stayed in London.” England had actually been one of her favourite countries, but she had tried to travel as much as possible to improve her language skills. Although she was quite gifted with them, nothing was better than local contact to study them.

He raised an eyebrow. “And why did you decide to return to Greendale, then?”

Zelda looked over to Edward. “I was missed”, she commented with a grin.

Her brother rolled her eyes, concentrated on his book and pretending to ignore the conversation.

But Faustus only smiled, eyes locking with hers. She felt as being drawn to him, like two magnets attempting to stay apart. It was positively thrilling.

Suddenly their teacher was entering, and the conversation needed to be put on hold. Zelda only partly focused her attention on the class, skipping through the book of binding rituals and wondering if any of them would actually prove a challenge. Occasionally Edward would throw a warning glance at her and she returned to the page the teacher had indicated, but it was so boring she might as well fall asleep at the spot.

Sometimes she looked over to Faustus, who was taking notes into his own book. She was not quite able to read but they said, but she would bet that whatever he wrote was much more interesting than what the man in front was talking about. They were not even allowed to try out the binding spells themselves, which was custom in European schools.

She would have loved to speak some more with Faustus after the seminar ended, but her brother reminded her that she had choir practice and practically threw her out of the room, telling her something about how being late on the first day would make a bad impression. But she was not stupid, and his real motives were pretty clear. He did not want her to interact anymore with Faustus Blackwood. Which immediately made the man much more interesting to her.

“I understand why you have been hiding her in Europe all this time”, Faustus commented, directed at Edward, just after his sister had been leaving the room. “You were afraid you would no longer be the best looking Spellman at this school!”

Edward shot him an angry glance. “Don’t even get any ideas.”

Faustus attempted to look like he had no idea what the other was talking about, but he knew very well. Zelda Spellman was quite the woman, with her shining strawberry blonde hair and those piercing green eyes. And she was intelligent too, and as sharp as her brother. The scent of her perfume was still lingering in the air, like a spell she had put on him in order to turn his head around. He felt bewitched already.

“If you touch her, I will have to put a blood curse on you”, Edward now threatened, apparently only half joking.

There was no doubt that starting something with his sister was quite the stupid and dangerous idea, yet Faustus was sort of intrigued. She had something about her which he could not pinpoint, some mysteriousness. “No need to worry”, he told Edward regardless, already on the way out of the room. The lie went easy over his lips.

He was not afraid of him, and he was doubting that Edward would ever dare to curse him. The rivalry between them had ever been more playful than real, although the competition was still there.  
  
Because they both wanted the same, in the long run. The seat of High Priest. Edward had the right bloodline and family name, sure, but he was not as good with magic as Faustus was. They were often practising and studying together, having contests on who would perform better.

“I know you”, Edward now replied, frowning slightly. “Which is why I don’t want you anywhere near my sister.”

Faustus huffed at the words, rolling his eyes. That was quite dramatic.

They walked through the entrance hall of the Academy, past the big Satanic statue in the middle of it. At the other end of the room a group of girls was standing, and Faustus noticed Zelda to be one of them. She was chatting with them, smiling ever so slightly, but her eyes seemed unfocused, like she was far away in fact. He had the urge to walk over and pull her away, lock the two of them in an empty room and see what was going to happen.

Edward seemed to have noticed his staring, since he cleared his throat. “Careful Blackwood”, he warned, pulling him into the hallway which lead to the library.

Faustus followed, resisting the urge to turn around and look back. For the first time he wished he would have joined the choir. But that was stupid, of course. He would get his chance to get closer to Zelda Spellman, that was for sure.

And Edward being angry about it was just the cherry on top of the cake, making it only more exciting.

The rest of the day he hoped for glimpses of Zelda’s blonde hair in the hallways, or just a trace of her perfume in the air, but he did not see her again until supper. She was sitting a few tables away with some other girls, and one which appeared to be her sister. Again although she took part in the conversation, her eyes said something else. Like she would rather be somewhere else, far away.

Once her eyes drifted over to him, having noticed his attention. She smiled slightly, before biting her lip and turning away.

It was a game they were playing, obviously, and he felt like he was losing. Every minute she did not turn her eyes back to him he felt as if in pain, desperately waiting for her move. But there was none, and eventually she finished eating and left the room.


	2. Close your eyes

It was a beautiful night, the air chilly but clear and the sky entirely free from clouds. Stars sparkled above her head as Zelda slipped out of the Academy building, the moon gleaming brightly in the dark. It was a full moon.

She leaned against the outside wall, drawing out a pack of cigarettes and searching for her lighter in the pockets. This school didn’t allow anyone to smoke inside, and she could really do without one of her brother’s lectures about how not beneficial nicotine was for ones health and what it could do to the coronary system.

Therefore she preferred to smoke in secret, if not in her room at home than outside at night. She couldn’t sleep either way, with Hilda snoring next to her in that huge bedroom. All she had wanted was to sleep at their house, but Edward had insisted that she needed to stay this weekend. It was all awfully dreadful, and she would much rather take the next flight back to England.

Finally she had found her lighter, the cigarette catching fire and glowing in the dark night. She drew in the smoke, feeling the bitter taste on her tongue. For a moment she watched the cigarette burn, the paper turning black under the flame’s touch and ash crumbling onto the ground.

Suddenly the door next to her was opened, and she heard footsteps coming her way. She was half thinking about whether to get rid of her cigarette or not, but Edward was not really the person to wander outside during the night, and anyone else could very well know what she was doing. Apart from her sister, perhaps, who would probably do nothing rather than run directly to Edward and inform him. She had always liked to do that.

But it was not Hilda who stepped out into the darkness, but the shadowy figure of Faustus Blackwood. She recognised him instantly, although she couldn’t tell what from. The smell of his cologne, perhaps.

“Miss Spellman”, he greeted, not even surprised to see her standing all alone outside in the middle of the night. Maybe he had followed her. Waited for a moment to speak her alone, without Edward lurking around every corner.

She took another draw of her cigarette, slowly releasing the smoke into the air. “What a surprise”, she replied, attempting to sound completely neutral, although him standing so close send a shiver racing over her skin.

His eyes rested on her for a second or two, watching her flick off the ash of her cigarette. “Does Edward know that you’re smoking?” he eventually asked into the newly formed silence.

She smiled mysteriously. “He doesn’t need to know everything, does he?”

Faustus nodded slowly. “I suppose the Europeans are more liberated in such matters.” His glance never left her, seeming to pierce through her. It was truly captivating.

Zelda gave her best to avoid appearing nervous, quickly distracting herself by drawing on her cigarette. The smoke danced around her, gleaming silver in the moonlight. “In all matters, truly”, she replied, slowly tapping off the excess of ash with her nails. However it was more of an excuse not to look into his eyes.

Perhaps he had noticed, or maybe it was pure coincidence, but he shifted a little closer, now leaned against the wall as well. His face was only inches away from hers. Some part of her wished he would lean forward to kiss her.

She took a last draw from her cigarette, putting it out with the heel of her boot. For a second she debated whether to light another one, just to occupy herself with something, but then decided against it. “What are you doing out here?” she wanted to know, wondering if it really had been a coincidence that they had met just now.

He smirked ever so slightly, fingers playing with the collar of his shirt. “I like to practice my spells at night”, he responded.

Zelda raised a brow at him, pondering if he was lying or not. It certainly did not sound very convincing. “Just outside the school?” she followed up, succeeding in making her voice sound totally unbothered. She didn’t want him to think she cared what he did with his spare time. Actually she wasn’t sure why she did.

Now he chuckled. “No, actually.” His glance shifted over to the dark trees not far from them. “In the woods, usually.” Already his eyes were back on her. “You could join me.”

That offer came so suddenly that at first she had no idea what to say. It certainly was quite intriguing, especially since she was sure he did not only suggest it to be spellcasting. Or maybe that was just her hoping.

Still, Zelda liked to play a little hard to get. “I should really get back to bed”, she responded, a smile on her lips. She barely knew this guy for a day, she wouldn’t just follow him into the woods the first time he asked.

Faustus Blackwood’s eyes seemed to light up at the words, obviously he enjoyed the little game she had begun. “It won’t take long”, he promised, still smirking barely noticeable.

Instantly, she wondered how many girls he had taken with him in this fashion. Therefore she chose to respond with silence.

“Have you ever been up on the cliffs?” he followed up, as she didn’t answer. “You can see all of Greendale from up there.”

Actually, she had not. This city had never been a place she had liked to be at, and she knew barely anything else than the Spellman’s house, the piece of forest which was closest to their yard and the grounds of this Academy. “Is that where you take all your girls?” she asked back, biting her lip in amusement. This little back and forth was quite entertaining.

To her surprise, he laughed. “It’s my little secret, actually. Not even your brother knows of it.”

He could very well be lying, she had no way of knowing. Somehow she was not able to read his expression the way it worked on other people. Eventually, she decided to give in. See where this would take her. “Lead the way, then.”

Faustus smiled, seeming quite pleased with himself. “I prefer to teleport, actually.” He eyed her for another moment, then reaching for her hands.

His skin was warm against hers, the touch instantly sending a shiver down her spine. She hoped he had not noticed her trembling. It was like little beams of electricity were jumping in between them.

And then, just a second after, they were somewhere else. Zelda had been utterly unprepared, and so she struggled to find her balance after reappearing. He steadied her slightly, but then quickly let go of her. She was almost disappointed with the sudden lack of contact.

Around them trees were stretching into the night’s sky, throwing shadows onto the ground. Just a few paces away the edge of the cliff was offering a majestic view all over Greendale, the city still partly illuminated. Smoke was rising out of some chimneys, other’s had lights burning in their windows. It was quite the stunning view, she had to admit.

Faustus was watching her carefully as she stepped closer to the edge, looking down into the dark valley beneath them. One could almost see as far as Riverdale, although it being no more than a few spare lights at the other side of the river.

“Why this place?” she wanted to know, turning around to face him again. This felt more like something to win her over with, not somewhere one would go to practice witchcraft. But Faustus Blackwood was quite the mysterious man, and she had not quite figured out what his intentions were yet.

He shrugged, stepping a little closer to her. “No one ever comes up here. I would rather not be interrupted by some mortals who were hoping to get a little kinky in the woods.” His smirk was sharp as a knife, and she knew exactly what he was implying.

But she decided to ignore the little hint, instead playing with her hair in order to occupy her hands. Besides that always had quite the effect on any male she encountered. The tension in the air was still almost visible, vibrating around them.

“So”, Zelda said into the silence. “What sort of spells do you like to practise here?” She had the vague feeling that it would be something rather not encouraged at the Academy of Unseen Arts, but that simply made it more exciting. She liked a little danger.

There was a certain gleam in his eyes as he answered. “Binding rituals. Summonings.” His lips curled up in a smile. “A little bit of necromancy every now and then.”

Necromancy, the art of challenging death, even defeating it, was strictly forbidden in the Church of the Night, as in every other coven as well. For a reason, of course. There was a seminar regarding the topic, but none of the spells were to be actually tried. She had been wanting to take that class, too, but Edward had forbidden it.

Now she was sort of intrigued, just wanting to see how far one could actually go. “For what purpose?” she wanted to know, tilting her head a little. “What do you need it for?” Necromancy was hardly something practical, and you could not even make a living doing it. So why bother? Somehow she felt like there was a specific reason.

His eyes caught hers, captivating them. “I wish to be the next High Priest”, he replied silently, but still loud enough for her to understand clearly. “And therefore should be able to master all types of magic.” He smirked a little. “Also the ones which were deemed forbidden.”

That was something Zelda could get behind, actually. Besides, it explained why her brother was so fixed on her staying away from Faustus Blackwood. He was his rival, obviously. But this made the game only more interesting.

“Could you show me something?” she asked, attempting to sound rather innocent, while never letting go of his eyes. “I’ve never performed necromancy before.” Not even in Europe that sort of magic was encouraged.

He played with his collar again, almost seductively. “There is a first time for everything.” The moonlight reflected in his dark eyes. “Although it will need some preparing. Tomorrow night, perhaps.”

Once again she had no idea if it was the truth, or simply a way to keep her waiting. She didn’t mind it either way. It was the perfect excuse to meet up a second time. “Great”, she replied simply, not letting any of her excitement show. She knew better than that. Keeping him guessing would make her only more interesting.

He teleported them back after that, this time Zelda being a lot more prepared. Still she made sure to struggle a little, only slightly touching his body when she acted like she needed to regain her balance.

It was still deep in the night, and the moon was glowing brightly as ever. Faustus stopped in front of the Academy building, turning around to face her. His eyes locked with hers, almost magically drawing her closer. Although she knew that there was not spell involved here. He seemed to be gleaming in the white moonlight.

A few seconds passed without any of them moving, just staring into each others eyes. Then just for a brief moment, his glance travelled down to her lips. He was standing close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin.

“I suppose we have a date then”, he almost whispered, like someone else could overhear the conversation if he spoke too loudly. His expression was intense, close to threatening. It send shivers down her spine.

Zelda did not even hear the words properly, just nodded automatically. She was much too captivated by his eyes. Which made it even more frustrating that he didn’t make the first move.

Again, he glanced down at her lips shortly, as if to drive her insane. She wondered if he acted like this on purpose. Her heart was racing inside her chest, although she was not able to quite explain why. Honestly she didn’t even know him, there was no reason for to be this nervous around him. But there was something about the sparks flying between them that intrigued her, made her long for more.

Eventually he leaned forward some more, finally captivating her lips with his. It was like a hot stroke of electricity running through her body, his tongue eagerly flicking into her mouth and playing with hers. His hands were in her hair, drawing her closer. It was like a dance, only so much more thrilling.

He pressed her backwards against the cold stone wall, and she buried her fingers in the fabric of his shirt. Being quite honest she had no idea what she was doing, but pulling away did not seem like an option. She was truly captivated, imprisoned in the swirl of emotions and the sensation she felt whenever his skin met hers. His teeth dug into her bottom lip almost playfully, before deepening the kiss even further.

Then very suddenly, he pulled away. Not far, but enough to look into her eyes. The scent of his cologne swirled around her, and his hot breath seemed to be burning against her skin. She almost felt like fainting. This man really had her head turned upside down.

“I’ve been meaning to do this all day”, he whispered, barely audible. But she understood just fine.

Actually, it made her feel some sort of relief, knowing that it was at least not one sided attraction. But she also sensed her opportunity to regain control over the situation. “I really need to get back to bed now”, she replied, giving her best to ignore her still irrationally fast heartbeat. She was sure he could hear from where he was standing.

He smiled slightly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “What a shame”, he breathed against her lips, before kissing her once more. His tongue traced her bottom lip, before beginning to play with hers. There was not an inch of space left between them, his body pressed tightly against hers.

It was difficult not to get lost again, but this time Zelda was determined to keep her strength of mind. She broke the kiss slowly, as far as possible while standing backwards against a stone wall. There really was not much space for her to move.

“I should go”, she repeated, although her voice not as steady and determined as she would have liked it to be. He could probably tell she didn’t really mean it.

To make herself more clear, she attempted to push him away a little and slipped out of her tight position against the wall. After all she wanted to leave him wanting more.

But if it worked he never showed, instead just smirked and ran a hand through his hair. “Until tomorrow, then.” His eyes had the familiar sparkle. “It was a pleasure Miss Spellman.”

She was half tempted to kiss him again, throw all her hard to get attitude away and just get lost with his lips on hers, but she knew better than that. Men were all the same, and it only needed two or three moves to turn their heads around. Seduction was fairly easy if done right. “Until tomorrow”, she purred, throwing him one last glance over her shoulder before turning away and slipping inside the Academy.

Her heart was still racing, and she could not stop a little smile from creeping over her lips. The excitement had just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, please let me know what you think <3


	3. Strange Magic

Zelda spent the entire next day thinking about the night before, neither paying attention to her classes nor anything else. Edward caught her daydreaming a few times, giving her a lecture about the importance of education and learning. She shrugged it off and excused herself by claiming not having slept well, which was not even a lie entirely. Whereas she blamed it on the uncomfortable bed in front of her brother, she knew what had been the real reason for her lying awake all night and staring at the ceiling.

Because she was unable to forget Faustus Blackwood’s lips on hers, like they had left a burning mark on her skin. She saw him once or twice in the hallways, fearing he might speak to her, and therefore quickly hiding behind a corner and acting like she was busily engaging in a conversation.

Fortunately he was spending most of his time with Edward anyway, and since Zelda was trying not to run into him either, it was easy to avoid them all together. She was a great liar usually, but Edward could often see through them regardless, and so she was not too keen on meeting both her brother and Faustus together, fearing she might give something away. _That_ would be a lecture she could do without.

Then there was also Hilda, who was being harrowed by the older girls, a tradition which seemed to be American only. By now Hilda was mostly hiding behind her older sister, Zelda not really caring but also not wanting to play the babysitter. Besides everyone else had survived the harrowing, too, so Hilda was probably overreacting. One night in that cell could not be the end of the world.

But she had her own problems, and her mind was much too occupied with Faustus Blackwood spooking through her head that she could actually think about her sister straight. It was really weird because usually she did not get this worked up about a man, no matter who he was. She had not exactly been a prude the last years, and still she had never actually caught feelings. Which appeared to be slightly different this time, although she could not quite tell what kind of feelings she had when she thought about him.

Finally it was beginning to grow dark, and all the girls went chattering into their bedroom. It seemed to take an eternity until everyone was lying down and fell asleep, the dark room growing more and more silent until only steady breathing was to be heard.

Silently Zelda slipped out of her bed, only having to flick her fingers to wear her normal clothes again. It was quite chilly outside, but she had opted for a skirt nevertheless. Showing off what she had was never a bad idea.

She was just outside in the hallway, having closed the door quietly behind her, as she heard someone calling her name.   
  
“Zelda”, someone whispered, a head peeking through the bedroom door. “Where are you going?” Hilda looked half confused and half scared, eyes wide open and hair in a messy bun.

Actually, this was the last thing she needed. “Go back to bed”, Zelda hissed, trying to keep her voice low. No one else was supposed to wake up.

Her sister frowned. “Where are you going?” she repeated. Stubbornness seemed to be a Spellman family trait, actually.

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Outside. Now get back to bed.” She made a quick gesture which was supposed to mean shush. “I’ll tell you tomorrow”, she offered, although not really meaning it. It was just to get her annoying little sister off her heels.

But Hilda only pinched her eyes, now slipping completely into the hallway. She crossed her arms, the way she had always done when she had still been a little girl. “I might as well tell Edward then.”

Zelda was half tempted to hex her at the spot, something which would make her permanently shut up. Her sister obviously had not been harrowed enough yet. But she had come up with a back up plan by now, and therefore she reached for the pack of cigarettes inside her coat, holding it up in the air.

Hilda frowned, arms still crossed defensively. “What is that?” she wanted to know.

“Cigarettes, stupid”, Zelda replied. Sometimes she wondered if her sister had ever spend one day out in civilisation. Almost every mortal was smoking these days, and in huge cities like London it was also common with witches and warlocks.

There was a moment of silence, in which Hilda’s eyes were resting on the little pack. Eventually, she nodded. “Will you be back soon?”

Zelda sighed. “Sure.” Probably a lie, but what did it matter. “And if you tell Edward, you’re dead.” She meant it, and Hilda knew that well enough.

Her sister nodded again, opening the door to the bedroom and slipping back inside. _Finally._

She took a deep breath, continuing her way down the hallway. Sometimes she wondered why Hilda was sixteen but behaving like a baby all the time. Their parents had obviously spoiled her too much as a child. She had no idea what it was like in the real world, so maybe a little harrowing would teach her some lessons.

It was surprisingly windy when she stepped outside, the flame of her lighter barely managing to hold on. But in the end she managed, and the cigarette burned brightly in the darkness. She was actually quite nervous, but gave her best to remain calm. It was not even necessarily because of the dark magic, but more because of him. How was she supposed to behave, anyway? Like the kiss never happened?   
  
She was biting her lip, hectically drawing on her cigarette, hoping it might calm her down.

Faustus arrived not long after she had finished her first one, already lighting a second one with by now slightly shaking hands. His eyes found hers instantly, even in the dark still sparkling. A smirk was on his lips, and in his hands he was carrying a book.

“You came prepared”, Zelda commented, casually tapping the excess ash of with her acrylic nail. Then she took another draw, smoke wavering around her.

His grin grew a little. “I don’t want to disappoint you”, he replied, stopping a few paces away from her. “Are you ready?”

Quickly she put out the cigarette, squeezing it with the tip of her shoe. “Of course”, she said smoothly, although her pulse was already shooting up, only getting worse when he reached for her hands again. She could swear he was able to feel it through the skin of her wrists, although praying to Satan he did not.

The view from the cliff was not as clear as the day before, thin layers of fog clouding the air. But she cared rather less anyway, instead watching him unpack the bag he had brought with him.

To her surprise the very first object he got out was a bottle of clear vodka, handing it over to her. “Do you want to get me drunk?” she joked lightly, eyeing the liquid. She had only once drunk vodka, but the taste was not really for her.

His eyes met hers for a second. “You might need it.” That was all he said regarding that matter.

Mostly out of pride Zelda opened the bottle, raising it to her lips and taking a sip. It burned inside her throat, making her stomach almost turn. She made a face, but drank another time. Who knew what awaited her later in this night.

Faustus took a sip herself, before ordering her to stand in the middle of the clearing while he drew a circle around her with salt. Zelda had actually done some reading on the topic, and it was usually supposed to keep evil spirits away from you after summoning them.

He then joined her inside the circle, holding the book he had brought with him. “Ready?” he wanted to know, eyes captivating hers.

Just now she noticed how close he was standing, much closer than needed since the inside of the circle was not small at all.   
  
At first she struggled to answer, only nodded. But then she added a swift “Of course”, attempting to keep a relaxed attitude.

Around them a few black candles were burning, the flames moving lightly in the wind. But they never went out, only flickered.

Faustus opened the book, the title reading _Nightmare drums._ Then he began speaking an enchantment, the words all Latin. It seemed to echo through the night, down the cliffs and through the hills it filled the air.

“Take this”, he whispered, handing the book over to her and pulling something else out of his bag, hiding it within his hand. Zelda felt herself trembling, the air suddenly having gone utterly cold. Within a second, all the candles were blown out. But there was no more wind. Somewhere in Greendale, a church clock struck midnight. _Witching hour._

Very suddenly, there were figures around them. One moment they were there and another gone, moving as swiftly as the wind. Their bodies appeared non-solid, wavering with each movement. Some were wearing bloody clothes, all of them old fashioned and dirty. Their faces seemed dead and hollow, eyes black and sunken into the sockets. It was a truly horrific spectacle.

Just out of curiosity, Zelda moved closer to the circle of salt, examining the spirits further. It might have been the vodka’s aftermath, but she felt rather excited than scared. “What are they doing now?” she wanted to know, following one particular spirit with her eyes. It was a young woman, hair as red as the blood stains on her clothes. Her dress was ripped and her skin dirty.

Behind her he reached for her wrist, gently pulling her closer. Their bodies almost touched now. “Stay within”, he said quietly. Then he showed her the object which he had pulled out earlier. It was a pen, nothing more. Just a simple black pen. “It’s your brother’s”, Faustus explained, obviously having noticed her confused expression. “Give it to one of the spirit’s, and it will haunt Edward’s nightmares tonight.”

That was actually quite the cool thing, and Zelda could not help the little smirk. “I want her”, she replied, aiming at the woman she had noticed earlier. Just the second she had spoken the words, the spirit turned. Her empty eyes seemed to pierce deep into Zelda’s soul, sending multiple shivers down her spine. It was like a frozen breeze had hit her suddenly. The spirit came closer, reaching out with one arm.

Faustus rested the pen in her hands, his skin feeling warm against hers. “Hand it to her, then.”

Carefully Zelda broke through the protective circle around them, resting the pen inside the dead woman’s palm. She gave her best effort not to touch her, although she was curious how a spirit felt once you touched it. But that was for another day to find out.

Afterwards Faustus repeated the spell, letting the spirits go and ending the summoning.

The moment Zelda stepped out of the circle, she felt like finally breathing again. “Poor Edward”, she noted, more ironic than anything else. A little revenge on her brother was just what she needed.

He chuckled in response, taking another sip of vodka. “Not bad for your first time.”

She wasn’t certain what exactly he was referring to, but just accepted the compliment with a smile. Again her eyes seemed to be glued to his. She couldn’t quite explain why, but there really was no helping it. Still, she wanted everything but him to notice. “You weren’t so bad yourself”, she replied, biting her lip while playing with the ends of her hair. That always did the trick.

And today was no different, since he was barely able to lift her eyes from her. He merely shifted closer, now only one step away. Somewhere, a raven was screaming.   
  
Seconds passed in silence, neither of them daring to break it.

Then, very suddenly, he closed the distance between them and kissed her, with such force that it almost swept her off her feet. She buried her hands inside the collar of his shirt to steady herself, letting her nails drag over the skin of his neck and throat.

The kiss was all tongue and teeth, both of them battling for dominance. It was hot and it was passionate, and Zelda could barely remember her own name anymore. Her mind was one empty blank page, she felt nothing else but him. It was thrilling and exhilarating, and everything in between.

They broke apart after what felt like hours, but might very well have been just seconds. Zelda was finding it difficult to breathe, with him being so close. His breath was tickling on her skin, making her shiver.

Actually, she would have _very_ much liked to take this one step further, not even caring about the location, but she felt like making him wait a little longer. Just because it was so exciting. “We should be getting back to the Academy, shouldn’t we?” she therefore asked, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Faustus smirked amusedly. “I can think of some other things we could do instead”, he offered, pressing a quick kiss to her neck.

She chose to ignore the words largely, only shaking her head a little, before pulling away from him entirely.   
  
Instantly she missed the feeling of his skin against hers. But by now Hilda had probably phoned Edward about her being gone for too long, and she did not need that stress in her life right now.

And so they returned to the Academy, largely in silence with the occasional eye contact. Zelda was trying to resist the urge to kiss him again very hard, telling herself that it would be worth the wait in the end.

Because eventually, she always got what she wanted. One way or another. He shall see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave me a comment telling me if you like this or not i love reading comments <33


	4. A little Thing we've got

It was midday when Zelda slipped inside the library, having escaped from her brother just seconds ago. Edward had invited her to join him outside to study, but she was fearing that this offer included Faustus Blackwood and so she had mumbled something about having to meet up with Hilda and fled the scene.

Now she sat down next to her little sister, who was absorbed in a copy of _Alice in Wonderland._ When Zelda arrived she looked up, frowning behind her glasses. “What are you doing here?”

Zelda took the book from her, instead handing her a volume of _herbalism for beginners._ “The library is for studying, sister, and Satan knows you need it.” Her voice was harsher than intended, but she had not gotten much sleep and was quite on the edge of her seat the entire day.

Hilda pursed her lips. “I can still tell Edward about where you went last night!”  
  
Sometimes Zelda wondered if her sister had picked up this blackmailing from her, or if it was simply running in the family. “You better don’t, or I’ll get around to try if the Cain Pit in our yard really works”, she snapped back, opening her own books and spreading them out in front of her.

No one really knew if the dirt in the Spellman yard really worked magic, but she had always longed to find out and burying her sister would prove the perfect opportunity, actually.

“Why are you even here?” Hilda replied, already back at _Alice in Wonderland_. It was her favourite book, and she had read it at least three times by now.

Zelda was just about to answer, when suddenly the door to the library was opened and Edward came in, followed by no other but Faustus Blackwood. “Oh Lucifer”, she blurted out, loud enough for Hilda to hear.

“What?” her sister instantly followed up, when Edward had already spotted the two of them and was heading their way.

Zelda was half considering throwing herself out of the nearby window. Faustus’ eyes were fixed on hers, a slight smirk on his lips. She had to concentrate really hard to keep a straight face, not only because of her brother but especially since she did not want Faustus to notice how he was making her feel.

“Sisters”, Edward greeted, looking slightly irritated since Hilda was still staring at her sister, attempting to figure out what was going on.

Zelda smiled smoothly, ignoring the glances. “Edward.” Her eyes travelled over to Faustus. “Mr Blackwood.” She was a great liar if she wanted to be, and she had never wanted that as much as she did in this moment.

Fortunately, her brother was not that empathetic. “I’m glad you’re working on your conjuring, Zee”, he noticed instead, hinting at the book she had opened. It was nowhere near the page they had discussed in the seminar, more like the other end of the book, but she preferred to do her own learning anyway.

Zelda raised an eyebrow. “I want to excel you one day, don’t I.” It was more teasing than anything else, although being better than Edward with something had always brought her a particular kind of joy. Not that it happened very often to be fair.

“That’s not too hard actually”, Faustus replied with an amused smile, eyes still resting on Zelda. She was beginning to fear her brother might notice.

Edward rolled his eyes, getting up from his chair. “We need to get going.”

She felt rather relieved when the two men stood up, although Faustus did make sure to give her one last long look, which not even her baby sister could miss. “Always a pleasure, Miss Spellman”, he added, quiet enough for Edward to overhear. Then he turned around and left, never looking back.  
  
Zelda felt her cheeks turning hot, fighting the strong urge to hide behind a wall of books.

Hilda was glancing over to her with watchful eyes. “What is going on, sister?” she wanted to know, chewing on the end of her pencil. “Why did he stare at you like that?”  
  
First of, because she had made sure to apply the brightest red lipstick she had found this morning, paired with sharp eyeliner and even took the time to curl her hair. She had to admit she was looking rather hot, and he sure had noticed this as well. But that was hardly the reason for his staring. “I don’t know”, she answered her sister, nervously playing with the pages of her book. “Do I look like a mind reader?”

But Hilda knew her too long and too well, and her lying was anything but on point today. “Come on”, she urged, leaning in closer. “I won’t tell Edward I promise!”  
  
She knew better than rely on her sister’s promises, but she was also aware that Hilda would not stop nagging until she had her answer. In that way she was quite ruthless. Zelda bit her lip, debating how to phrase it best. “We have something going on, I suppose”, she said rather vaguely, acting like she was paying attention to her books.

Her sister shifted even closer, eyes wide open. “What?” Sometimes she really was stupid.

Zelda rolled her eyes, avoiding to look up. “Get over it, Hilda, and start studying”, she said sharply. In Satan’s name, why had she come back to this town? It was costing her every nerve she had.

Fortunately Hilda remained silent, biting her lip and beginning to read her herbalism book. They did not speak another word until the bell rang, indicating that it was now time for Black Mass. Another opportunity to run into Faustus Blackwood, how brilliant. Zelda rushed to get up from her chair, not wanting to have Hilda stuck on her heels for the rest of the day.

So she left the library alone, walking down the hallway and wondering whether she _really_ had to show up at Black Mass today. No one would notice her presence or absence anyway, would they? Her brother was usually much too occupied with himself.

Suddenly someone reached for her wrist, and before she could even react she was pulled into a room on her right. She barely caught a glimpse of Faustus Blackwood’s face, before he was pressing her backwards against the closed door. Just now she noticed where they were. _The High Priest’s office._ She knew it back from the days where her father had been in that position.

With a flick of his wrist the lock was enchanted and the key turned around itself.

Against her will, her heart was beating so quickly it was hard to breathe. “What is this?” she wanted to know, voice sounding much more collected than she felt.

He shrugged playfully, running a hand over her cheekbone. “I thought we might engage in something more interesting than devil worshipping today.”  
  
That offer actually sounded very delicious. “Like what?” she asked innocently, not able to look anywhere else but his eyes.

“Like this”, he breathed against her lips, before leaning forward to kiss her. His tongue flicked into her mouth, and Zelda felt herself melting in his arms. By now her guard was definitely down.

For a second they broke apart, eyes meeting each other. “Isn’t this more fun than Black Mass?” he whispered, his breath sending a shiver racing down her spine.

Zelda huffed, biting her lip. “I haven’t decided yet.”

He seemed to take that as a challenge, pressing her tighter against the wooden door and letting his lips run down her neck, sucking and biting into the skin. His hands were on her waist, picking her up so that she could wrap her legs around his body.

To be fair she had no idea what she was doing, or why she was doing it, but it felt so good that she had not even the slightest intention to stop.

Faustus sat down on the sofa in one of the corner’s of the office, so that she was now sitting on his lap. His fingers were unbuttoning her blouse, awfully slowly. Every touch of his made her shiver, and she exhaled sharply when he was finally done and went back to placing kisses on her throat and collarbone. She was sure to have bruises after this. Her nails dug into his neck, scratching over it. Actually she wanted to leave her fair share of marks as well.

His lips caught hers again, teeth sinking into her bottom lip and playfully biting down. Every touch seemed to electrify her skin, making her tremble. It was much more thrilling than anything she had ever experienced.

With a quick move he had rolled the two of them over, her body now below him. Every inch of skin seemed to be burning with sensation, as his kisses travelled further down over her chest.

She got him out of his shirt, letting it join her blouse on the floor. Now her nails were scratching over his bare back, leaving red streaks. She didn’t want to be the only one wearing a reminder of this little adventure later.

Finally he lifted her skirt up, getting rid of her panties. In response she wrapped her legs around his body, only pulling him closer.  
  
She was sure to have screamed when he entered her, but he was quick to silence her with his lips on hers. Perhaps not the entire Academy needed to hear what was going on.

Afterwards Zelda remained lying on the sofa, still only wearing her bra and skirt. She was almost gasping for air, pulse racing like she had just run a marathon. Excitement was still running over her skin, and she was not daring to move just yet. Although Black Mass was probably over soon, which meant that the High Priest might return every moment.

Faustus was sitting at the end of the sofa, slipping back into his shirt already. But his eyes were resting on her, as he noticed that she wasn’t moving. “As much as I dislike that man, I could do without the High Priest walking in on us in his office”, he stated with a grin, picking up her blouse and throwing it over to her.

Zelda rolled her eyes, sitting up and getting dressed herself. He was right of course, that would probably get the two of them expelled. And herself grounded for the rest of her days.

Already now she could feel her neck burning, therefore standing up and walking up to the next mirror. Faustus had done quite the job, her skin being covered in purple bruises from neck to collar bone. If her brother saw those, _she_ would be the one trying out the Cain Pit.

Fortunately there was magic, which was why it only took her a couple of seconds to cover everything up and make herself look presentable again. Her hair was a hot mess as well, but there was a spell for such matters, too.

Faustus was still seated, eyes following her every move. But as she turned away from the mirror he stood up, walking over to catch her wrist. Slowly he drew her in closer, so that their bodies were touching again.

One might think that the spark was gone, the thrill whenever he touched her, but it wasn’t. Zelda had sort of hoped it might have been a one time thing, and she could now get over it, but it did not appear that way.

“There’s lipstick on your shirt”, she noticed, letting her fingers run over the fabric and making the red stain disappear within a second.

He kissed her eagerly, more teeth than tongue really, tracing the outline of her jaw with his fingertips. And then, just from one second to another, he was gone. Teleported out of the room.  
  
Zelda remained standing there, trying to collect herself and slow down her ragged breathing. Her heartbeat was echoing in her ears. _What had just happened?_

With shaking hands she opened the door, making sure that the hallway was empty before slipping out of the room. She was not even able to think straight anymore. This man had turned her head around, truly.

She had just reached the entrance hall, when she was almost running into her brother. It took her a few seconds to recognize him even, still largely confused. “Edward”, she noted. It did not sound overly excited.

He frowned at her, furrowing his brows. “What are you doing here?” The tone was accusing, of course. “I did not see you at Black Mass.”

Zelda was searching for an excuse, something which would satisfy her brother. Missing Black Mass was probably inexcusable, though. “I was not feeling too great”, she therefore chose to say.

To her surprise, her brother looked actually concerned. “Don’t you like it here?” It was an honest question.

She sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “No.” It was only partly true anymore, but Edward couldn’t know that. He couldn’t know who had made her stay quite enjoyable after all.

“Tonight you can sleep in your own room again”, he offered to console her, but it was hardly any effort he put in.

She nodded, huffing silently. As if that would make Greendale anymore pleasant to stay at. “I have class”, she informed her brother, voice more cold than she had intended.

Edward frowned again. “I know. We have binding rituals now.”

Right, she had forgotten he was also taking that class. And so was Faustus, if she thought about it for another second. That was going to be quite the awkward encounter. She was not sure if she was ready for that yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't usually write smut scenes or whatever but i felt like branching out with this story lmao. let me know what you think! <3


	5. Magic Eyes

Binding rituals was to be taught outside today, in the Academy’s garden, which turned out to be at least some sort less boring than sitting inside. Their teacher was showing off some rituals which were to be considered fairly easy, all of them Zelda could probably do without even trying, which was why she preferred standing at the back of the class and read in her book, having skipped to the more trying rituals.

Edward was of course standing at the very front of the class, eagerly asking questions and acting like the insufferable know-it-all he was.

Suddenly someone stepped beside her, glancing inside her book. “Binding and summoning demons, interesting”, Faustus commented, the typical amused smirk on his lips. “Much more useful than the nonsense they teach here.”   
  
That was something Zelda could agree to actually.

“If I was to be High Priest, I would implement an entire school reform”, he continued, still absorbed in the page of the book.

It was weird hearing him talk like this, but her brother liked to say such things as well. Just in a more cocky manner, since he was convinced that he was already sitting on the High Priest’s chair in all but name.

Zelda glanced over to the crowd of students, who were now to try the rituals by themselves. “I can’t believe I’m actually here”, she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

He laughed at the words, running a hand through his hair. “We could leave”, he offered, at least half serious.

Although another session in the High Priest’s office sounded more than tempting to her, she would not risk getting caught by Edward or even worse the High Priest himself. No, that was for another day.

Just in this moment her brother walked up to them, looking anything but happy about seeing the two of them together, standing rather close too. “Sister, what are you doing?” he asked, rather unpleased. “You should be practising your spells.”

She smiled mildly. “Everyone with more than two braincells would be able to bind a _mouse,_ Edward.” However it seemed like barely anyone in the room did possess that kind of intelligence, since most mice ran around and were chased by the students, instead of being bound to the pentagrams drawn on the ground.

Her brother returned the smile. “Then it would be easy for you to try, wouldn’t it?” He shot her a warning look, which clearly said _do as I say or regret it later._

“Easier than for you”, she snapped back, slamming her book shut and walking over to one of the pentagrams.

To her despair Faustus Blackwood was joining Edward in watching her, eyes sparkling with amusement as she grabbed the mouse from its cage and placed it on the muddy ground.   
  
She quickly spoke the Latin spell, feeling the air around her vibrate ever so slightly. The next moment the mouse began to run around, caged inside the outline of the drawn pentagram. Actually she hadn't even tried yet. With a smile on her lips, Zelda stood up. “See? Easy.”

There was something in her brother’s expression which was hard to read, but it was clear that he had wanted her to fail. So much was obvious.

She snapped her fingers, and the mouse was free.

Edward’s face was anything but happy, but he never said anything, just turned on his heel and walked away without another word.

Faustus stayed behind, grinning a little. “Quite the performance”, he commented, glancing behind himself if Edward was watching before leaning in closer. “Your brother has never been a natural with binding rituals.”

She could feel his breathing on her skin, making her little hairs stand up. Swiftly, she moved away a few inches. “That explains his attitude”, she replied, adding a smile to conceal the real intention behind the words.

The bell rang, and everyone started moving. The yard emptied within moments, and the two of them were alone.

“Are you staying at the Academy tonight?” he wanted to know, still eyeing her so intensely that she was fearing he might kiss her any second. She would let him, even. For a while at least.

But he never did, so she needed to answer. “No”, she said quickly, that he wouldn’t get any ideas. Although she still had not figured out if this was a one time thing or something to be repeated. She would not mind the latter, actually.

If anything he looked disappointed, but his expression never told her much about what he was thinking. He was careful like that. “What a shame”, he replied smoothly, before turning around to leave. “Until next time, Miss Spellman.” The formal addressing was almost mockery.

She never responded, just watched him cross the yard and disappear within the walls of the Academy. It took her a few seconds to collect herself, before she followed. There were classes to attend, after all.

Her last seminar that day was French, although she was indeed fluent, she liked to sit and listen to the teacher talk about history and customs, while the other’s were still figuring out how to get the pronunciation right.

She had just taken her seat at the very back of the class, where no one would even notice her but she had a good view about everything that was going on, when someone sat down beside her. Instantly she knew who it was, without even looking up from her papers.

Somehow, it made her heart skip a beat. “Mr Blackwood”, she noticed, attempting to keep a neutral tone. “Are you even taking French?” It was hard to imagine, really.

He smirked rather smugly. “No, but I imagined you would.”

That sounded so ridiculous in her ears that it almost made her laugh. She leaned back in her chair, eyeing him carefully. “Do you speak it, at least?”

“Not a word”, he replied, brushing it off with a shrug.

Zelda frowned at him, not really knowing where this was going. Was he following her now? She could really do without that, being honest. “Why are you here, then?” she followed up, although the teacher had already begun to speak.

His eyes rested on her, as intense as ever. It was like peeling her clothes off all over again. “I felt like speaking to you without your brother lurking around every corner.”

 _Speaking,_ interesting. Not what she had expected, but the truth. Edward could drive one insane. “What do you want, Mr Blackwood?” she asked quietly, making sure that no one around them noticed the conversation. But they were all much too occupied with French, anyway.

His eyes had a dark gleam when he answered. “Isn’t that obvious?”

Actually, it was not. Zelda raised a brow at him in expectation.

“You”, he added, the statement so blunt that she thought she might not have understood correctly at first. But his tone was serious, and so were his eyes which seemed to be devouring her.

She smiled in response, the sort of smile that would turn anyone’s head around. “That’s a shame, then”, she answered, letting her nails click on the table. It was quite amusing to turn him down like that. Although she knew it would not last.

He leaned forward, almost close enough for their bodies to touch. His lips were only inches from hers. “I like a little challenge”, he whispered, eyes seeming to burn holes into her skin.

It took her all self discipline she had to control her heartbeat, since he would have been sure to notice her excitement then. She longed for his lips on hers again, especially as his glance travelled down and up again. He was playing with her, obviously.

But this was hardly the time, or the place, and she didn't want every other student in the room to turn around and watch them.

Very suddenly he withdraw, sitting up straight again. “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to distract you from your class.”

She stared at him quite startled, not knowing what to make of this situation. He was trying to drive her insane, as it seemed. And it was working, she had to admit this much.

He was still eyeing her though, the sort of intimate look people would probably recognise as something other than just friendly. It made her horribly uncomfortably, shifting slightly in her seat.   
  
In front the teacher was drawing things on the board, chalk scratching silently. It was the Eiffel Tower and the significant triangle of the Louvre museum, as she was chatting about sights in Paris.

“I always loved the Louvre”, Faustus commented, his look having followed hers.

She frowned, glance shifting back to him. “You have visited Paris?” That was quite the surprise, actually. He had not mentioned that before. But then again she hardly knew him anyway. And they had barely ever talked.

He smiled, having noticed her confusion. “A couple times”, he replied. “But I bet I don’t know the city as well as you do.”   
  
It was empty flattery, she knew that, but she couldn’t shake of the feeling that there was something else he was implying here. And she would be proved right.

“We should travel to Paris one night”, he continued, smirking in amusement but voice utterly serious. “You could show me around.”

Zelda furrowed her brows, the idea sounding ridiculous to her. Even if they teleported… although it had something appealing, spending a night in the city of love with Faustus Blackwood. She could bet that there would be lots of excitement, even if probably not much sightseeing and more of other activities.

Still, she shook her head in response. “You’ve known me for two days, and you wish to take me to Paris?”

He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “Two days?” He bit his lip playfully. “Feels longer, doesn’t it?”   
  
It did indeed, more like half a century. But she wouldn’t admit that. Just as much as she would not agree to a quick night in Paris with this man.

The ringing of the bell and the end of the class disrupted the conversation, and Zelda was more than glad that it bit. She quickly got up from her chair, reaching for her bag.

“Always a delight to see you, Miss Spellman”, he commented, still sitting. His eyes were sparkling as usual.

She gave him a last smile, before rushing out of the room. This really was too much.

To make matters worse, the first person she ran into in the hallway was her sister. Hilda almost dropped all her books at the sight of seeing her.

“Zelda”, she half yelled, running over. “Can we finally go home?”

Obviously Hilda had enjoyed the weekend at the Academy just as little as Zelda had. “Yes”, she muttered in response, already making her way to the entrance hall. All she wanted was to hide in her room and not think of Faustus Blackwood for some time.

But that did not work out the way she had planned at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter is gonna be hot again lmao. please let me know what you think! <3


	6. New kind of kick

In the evening the Spellman’s had dinner together, Hilda had cooked since she was the only one being able to serve something which wasn’t burned, and the three of them had sat around the table and listened to Edward chatting about how they needed to honour the Spellman name at the Academy – with one long look over to Zelda – and be good and diligent students.

Then her sister had complained about her classes being too hard, the spells too challenging and the other girls too mean. Zelda had rolled her eyes, Edward promised to study with her, and then turned to her.

“How are you enjoying the Academy, Zee?” he had asked, taking a sip of wine.

She had smiled in response, muttered something about better educational standards in Europe and then asked to excuse herself. She had hurried upstairs afterwards, locked herself in the bathroom and gotten into a bath. Her family was just too much to bear sometimes.

But after an hour Hilda was ponding on the door impatiently, complaining about having to shower, and so Zelda slipped into her black satin nightgown and left the room.

She walked past her sister, giving her one of her death stares, and opened the door to her room. Just when the door fell shut she had the vague feeling that there was something not quite alright, something off.

“I wondered when you might return.”   
  
Zelda jumped at the words, close to an actual heart attack. “In Satan’s name”, she exclaimed, staring into the eyes of Faustus Blackwood, who else. She took a deep breath to collect herself. “What are you doing here?”

He was leaning backwards against her bed, arms crossed and smirking as usual. “I missed you”, he shrugged, sounding absolutely genuine.

Zelda was wondering whether she had stumbled into a dream. This could simply not be happening, not with her sister next door and Edward downstairs. “You can’t just come into my room”, she argued, attempting to sound angry. It didn’t work.

The words only made him chuckle. “As you might have noticed I can.” He looked around himself. “Lovely decor”, he commented. It sounded sarcastic.

She continued to stand in the middle of the room, not quite knowing what to do with herself. What was he even hoping to gain from this? “Now that you’ve seen me, can you please leave?” she tried, but she did not sound half as firm as she had wished. It was a rather weak pleading.

As expected, he did not show any intention to leave. Instead, he walked towards her with a grin. “I actually didn’t just come here to _see_ you”, he explained, stopping in front of her.

Zelda could already feel her heart fluttering. It was horrible. “No?” she replied, pressing her lips together firmly. “Why did you come, then?” She wasn’t even trying to flirt, it just happened naturally.

He reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, the touch making her shiver. His fingers rested on her neck, stroking the skin softly.

In that moment, she wanted nothing more but to kiss him. She didn’t even care about anyone else in the house anymore, what did it matter if they came barking in and noticed what was going on. What was life without a little danger.

He pulled her into a hungry kiss, burying his fingers in her still wet hair. Her skin was trembling with sensation as she wrapped her arms around his neck, shifting closer. The night gown fell to the floor, his shirt following. She almost ripped it when tearing it off his body, craving to feel his skin.

As he let her down on the bed, she remembered her sister next door. “Someone will hear”, she half gasped, trying not to moan as his lips travelled down her neck.

“Not if you’re quiet”, he breathed against her skin, teeth playfully biting down.

That was not something Zelda could guarantee actually, and therefore she opened the upper drawer of her nightstand and pulled out some yarn.

“What in Satan’s name are you doing?” Faustus asked, currently attempting to open her bra clip. It seemed to be quite the struggle, actually. His fingers scrapped over her spine, and she shivered.

She took a deep breath, trying to get her mind to focus. It was harder than she thought, with him between her legs. “Casting a spell, what does it look like”, she half snapped, wrapping the yarn around her fingers and muttering some Latin words which sounded about right.

It was quite difficult for her to concentrate, and she was sure to have messed up the spell the moment he removed her bra and began to suck at the skin of her breasts. But it was the best she could do and when the yarn fell to the floor she could only hope that the noise would at least be partly covered.

His lips returned to hers then, tongue tracing the outline of her bottom lip. She had her hands buried in his hair, legs wrapped around his body.

If Hilda came in now and ruined the moment, she might very well go ahead and murder her at the spot.

  


Zelda didn’t realize what a mistake this had been until after, when she was lying on her back and was gasping for air, sheets messily tangled around her and Faustus on the other side of the bed. _What had she been thinking?_

Quickly she sat up, still feeling rather overwhelmed by the happenings. Perhaps her brain had given up working entirely around him.

He was watching her, eyes following her moves. But he remained silent, waiting for her to take the word.

“You should leave now”, she decided to say, not daring to meet his eyes. One night stands were nothing new to her, in whatever location, but this was too much. In her own room, what a mess. And it also wasn’t officially a one night stand anymore, to make things worse. By now she was just praying to Satan that he would agree to leave, and be done with it. This tension was too much to bear.

Fortunately, he seemed to agree. “I should”, he replied, sitting up as well and reaching for his shirt on the floor.

Zelda followed him with her eyes, trying not to obviously stare at his abs. She was almost disappointed when the dark fabric of the shirt covered them. But it was for the best when he just left, so they forgot about this incident.

However fate was rarely on her side, and therefore nothing happened when he attempted to teleport out of the room. Faustus frowned in surprise, trying again. Nothing.

By now Zelda had gotten a little nervous. Then suddenly, it struck her. “For the love of Lucifer”, she sighed, closing her eyes for a bare second. This could not be true.

“What?” he wanted to know, looking as confused as she felt.

She took a deep breath, clearing her throat. “Edward puts a ban on the house each night. No one can teleport in or out.” _How could she have forgotten?_ Sometimes she really was as stupid as her sister.

But this only seemed to amuse Faustus, since the sparkle had returned to his eyes. “Looks like I need to stay after all.”

Zelda pressed her lips together, debating whether to agree and just live with it or to argue and act like she didn’t want this. None of the options seemed rather great, but she opted for the first one. Perhaps she didn’t always have to be an insufferable bitch. “Fine”, she agreed, shrugging in an attempt to act like she didn’t care and laid down on the mattress again. Subtly she pulled the sheets over her body, covering up her bare skin.

To her despair he slipped out of his shirt again, before lying back down next to her. He barely touched her, but it was enough to send a shiver racing over her skin.

This time he noticed, unfortunately. “Do I make you nervous?” he asked, eyeing her carefully. His face was much too close to hers.

Zelda only smiled, fingers playing with the sheets. “You wish”, she replied, sounding much more convincing than expected.

Outside her door, steps were echoing through the house. Then a door was slammed shut. Silence followed. Her brother was obviously not in the best mood.

“Perhaps I should lock the door”, she sighed, running a hand through her hair. She didn’t even want to imagine what a mess it was right now.

He caught her wrist, stopping her from speaking the spell. “Who cares?” he asked quietly, voice low and deep.

It was enough to make her heart flutter in her chest. She hated herself for that. “I care”, she managed to respond, although by now he was close enough for her to feel his warm breathing on her skin. “I could do without my brother walking in.”

He traced the outline of her face, letting his fingers run over her jaw and collarbone. “Doesn’t that make it even more exciting?” He was barely audible by now.

Actually, he wasn’t wrong. Zelda did not manage to answer, appearing to have run out of words. Her mind was utterly empty.

He kissed her then, longer and deeper than he needed to. It was slower than usual, and all the more intense.

She was gasping for air when they parted. “I really need to sleep now”, she almost stuttered, voice trembling terribly.

To her relief he agreed, moving away to his side of the bed.

But when she turned out the lights with a snap of her finger and the room fell dark, she wrapped the sheets around herself and was perhaps even a little content about how things had turned out. One day she might need to thank Edward for this particular spell.

  


Zelda was woken by the sun shining through her window, sighing quietly and slowly opening her eyes. It took her a moment to realize what had happened the night before, and another to notice that she was indeed quite curled up in Faustus’ arms. Her head was resting on his shoulder, his skin warm against hers.

Quickly she shifted away, not careful enough to avoid waking him. His glance met hers and he was almost smiling. “Good morning”, he mused, running a hand through his messy hair. If anything it made him even more attractive.

She sat up, just then remembering that she was not indeed wearing any clothes. In Satan’s name, what was happening to her?

She reached for her bra on the floor, attempting to close it on her back. Sadly she failed, until he chose to assist and do it for her. “Thanks”, she muttered, not overly pleased with how this was playing out so far.

He chuckled, sitting up as well. “Did your brother lift the ban by now?” he wanted to know, glancing over to the clock on her night stand.

Zelda bit her lip, nodding slowly. “You should leave.” He should have left a long time ago, actually. Waking up next to each other was not her thing at all.

To her surprise he only wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. “Or we could go for a round two”, he offered, placing a kiss on her neck.

She sighed. To be precise that would be round four or five, but she didn’t say that, for obvious reasons. And as much as that offer intrigued her, she really needed to go downstairs for breakfast soon. Missing that wasn’t an option with Edward in the house.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Zelda felt her heart missing a beat. This was the last thing she needed, really. “What?” she asked carefully, trying to keep herself from panicing. It was too early in the morning for that.

“Zelds do you have my hairbrush?” her sister’s voice was asking, rather impatiently.

In Satan’s name, what had she done to deserve this girl in her life? “No”, she hissed back, although she was perfectly aware that the brush was sitting on her desk.

Hilda, however, seemed to be extremely annoying this morning. “I know you have it”, she disagreed. “Can I come in and have a look?”

Zelda was half tempted to hex her at the spot, something of the sort of tying her lips together so she would stop being a nagging little creature. “No”, she responded firmly, praying to the Dark Lord that her sister would listen to her for once in her life.

Next to her, Faustus was grinning in amusement. He seemed to find the situation utterly funny.

But of course, Satan had decided to screw up her life today and so Hilda decided to ignore her elder sister. Just a second later, she was standing in the middle of the room.

To be fair this was better than her brother catching her in the act, but that was a weak consolation. Hilda’s jaw had dropped, wide eyes flicking in between her sister and Faustus.

Zelda wondered if she had ever even heard of the concept of sex. Probably not. “Your brush is on my desk”, she informed Hilda coolly, attempting to stay relaxed.

Faustus was chuckling silently, arms still wrapped around her body.

She could feel the bite marks and bruises on her skin like they were burning, and her sister was probably utterly aware of each and every one of them. Still, Hilda appeared to be frozen solid, not moving one inch.

Zelda rolled her eyes, making the hairbrush lift itself up from her desk and catching it in the air. Telekinesis was really quite cool. She then threw it over to Hilda, who was barely able to catch it.

She still looked like she had seen a ghost, but also made no intention to leave the room.

Slowly, Zelda was growing impatient. “Leave, Hilda”, she hissed, attempting to keep her voice low enough for Edward to overhear. She wasn’t sure if he was downstairs already. Him walking into the room as well was the worst thing she could imagine right now.

Finally her sister nodded, turning around to leave without a word. She was already in the door frame when Zelda held her back.

“One word to Edward and I’ll bury you in the garden”, she reminded her, meaning every word. She would not let her sister screw this up.

Hilda slammed the door shut behind her, and next to her Faustus laughed a little.

Zelda sighed, letting her body sink against his for a second. “I hate this house”, she muttered. Actually it was surprisingly comforting in his arms.

“I better get going”, he whispered against her hair, loosening himself and climbing out of the bed.

Immediately she missed the feeling of his skin against hers, the warmth he was radiating.   
  
But she knew better than to hold on, and so she got up as well and covered herself in her nightgown. Nervously she played with the band, just so her fingers had something to do. She was utterly unsure what to do now, how to behave.

As if he had noticed, he made the decision for her. “See you at the Academy”, he said into the silence, winking suggestively. Then he was gone.

The room seemed to grow colder at the very second, suddenly empty. Zelda wrapped the gown tighter around herself, as if that would pull her mind back together. Then she rushed out of the room, over into the bathroom where she suspected her sister to be.

Indeed Hilda was standing in front of the mirror, brushing her teeth. Her eyes grew a little wider when Zelda came in, staring at her like she was some sort of alien.

As soon as she looked into the mirror as well, Zelda knew why. She certainly looked pretty wild, the entire skin of her neck and chest covered with hickeys. Faustus had done quite the job here. She ran her nails over the bruised skin, watching as the purple turned white under her fingertips. Being a witch made things so much easier.

Eventually, her sister seemed to have located her voice again. “Why was Edward’s best friend in your bed?” she asked, sounding like a twelve year old.

Zelda raised a brow at her, actually quite amused. “That is rather obvious, don’t you think sister?” And her sister was foolish to think that Faustus was Edward's best friend. 

Hilda put the tooth brush down, almost dropping it on the way. “So you’re in a, you know, relationship now?”

That was one of the stupidest questions she had ever heard. Instantly, Zelda shook her head. “No.” _Definitely not._

Now her sister looked even more confused. “But-” she began, but broke off. Obviously she had realized that perhaps she did not need to hear all the details. “Edward will be angry”, she said instead.

Zelda smiled confidently. “He won’t find out.” Hilda was a terrible liar to be fair, but with her life being threatened she might be able to keep a secret for once.

Very slowly, her sister nodded. “Alright”, she agreed. Her fear of the Cain Pit seemed to win, fortunately.

“Great”, Zelda concluded, pleased with herself. As long as Edward never knew she didn’t much care about Hilda knowing, or what she thought about it. What did it matter, after all? Nothing.

She left the bathroom and made her way downstairs, her mind still wandering off to Faustus Blackwood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please let me know what you think <33


	7. Starboy

It was Friday evening, the day of parties at the Academy of Unseen Arts. Zelda was just about to slip out of the house, just stopping by in the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. Actually she had hoped her brother might be sitting in the library studying, but today she didn’t get lucky. He was leaned against one of the kitchen counters, paper in hand.

His eyebrows rose when she entered. “You don’t plan on leaving like this”, he noted, putting the paper down.

Zelda rolled her eyes, pouring herself some water. She was wearing a red lace dress, which was basically as short as it could get. Matching red lips tied the outfit together. “I do actually”, she replied, smiling innocently.

Edward sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Do take your sister with you, though.”   
  
She was surprised he gave up that easily, but bringing Hilda along was not much better of an option either. “I’d rather stay home then”, Zelda huffed, taking a sip of water. A red stain appeared on the glass.

“Don’t be mean, Zee”, her brother answered firmly, furrowing his brows.

Just in that moment Hilda rushed into the kitchen, wearing a not even that ugly looking black dress paired with stockings and a little jacket.

Zelda had to admit, this was not the worst her sister had ever looked. Nothing in comparison to herself, though. “Fine”, she whispered in Edward’s direction, leaving the glass sitting on the sink and turning away to leave the kitchen. “Let’s go”, she urged her sister.

Hilda nodded quickly, following her into the hallway. “Do we walk?” she wanted to know, sounding overly excited and bubbly as always.

That attitude was beginning to get on Zelda’s nerves. “Absolutely not”, she replied, opening the door and stepping outside. She quickly made sure that Edward wasn’t watching, or listening for that matter, before she reached for her sister’s hands.

Barely a second after they were standing in the yard of the Academy of Unseen Arts.

Hilda was staring at her in utter surprise. “Since when can you teleport yourself?” she wanted to now, looking around herself in confusion. Like she couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Actually, this had been the first time. But good to know that she could indeed do it. “I don’t know”, Zelda shrugged, smoothing out her dress. “I just felt like I could.” That was only the truth. It had just been a feeling, a hunch that if she tried it would work. And it did.

They walked inside, the building already filled with lots of students. Mostly younger ones, her age or even Hilda’s. Many seemed drunk by now, the floor was covered in empty cups and bottles, even shards of glass. The air was thick with cigarette smoke, and something else which was perhaps cannabis. Music was echoing from the high walls.

Zelda’s eyes were scanning the crowd, searching for one particular face. Subtly of course, she wouldn’t want him to notice.

The past week they had met more often than she would have liked to admit, stealing moments in between seminars and classes. She was bruised close to everywhere from being pressed against desks or doors or whatever piece of furniture which seemed fitting, but she couldn’t deny the thrill of it. Keeping it a secret only added to that.

Suddenly she spotted him in the crowd, standing at the other end of the hallway and nipping on a cup. She pressed her lips together, debating whether to let him wait or not. It was an easy decision to make.  
  
“I see you later”, she told Hilda quickly, leaving her sister behind and pressing herself through the group of students blocking the hallway.

Faustus smirked when he noticed her, raising his cup to welcome her. “Miss Spellman”, he teased her, eyes gleaming. “What a surprise.” His glance shifted over her body quickly, but then he was back at looking into her eyes. “Lovely dress.”

She smiled in response, leaning against the wall as well. “What are you drinking?”   
  
He shrugged, glancing inside his cup. “No idea, actually.” He handed it to her, their fingers merely touching. It was enough to make her shiver. Still, after all this time.

Quickly she drank a sip, the liquid burning in her throat. But the taste was sweet, and didn’t taste like alcohol at all. She handed the cup back to him. “So”, she began. “What does one do at these parties?”

In Europe, parties were mostly about getting drunk and having sex, but she wasn’t quite in the mood to get wasted today. Especially not with her brother sitting at home and probably waiting up for her.

Faustus smiled, leaving the empty cup on the floor next to him. “Not much”, he replied, still never breaking eye contact. “But there is enough other fun things we could do with our time.”

She had expected for him to say something along the lines of this, the party only being an excuse for her to come and leave her home. That was fine with her, though. “For example?” she followed up, twisting a strand of her between her fingers.

“Wait and see”, he told her, reaching for her hand and leading her down the hallway.

She followed him out of the building, into the backyard. It was surprisingly empty, all the other students piling up inside. It was dark as well, no source of light other than the dim moonlight. Suddenly she was shivering in the cold air.

He handed her his jacket like it was the most normal thing in the world, and despite her brain protesting she didn’t argue. Just slipped into it and felt the fabric sitting on her skin, the scent of his cologne in her nose. It was nice, actually.

They were still holding hands, although having stopped walking. “Ready?” he asked quietly, shifting a little closer.

Actually she wasn’t sure if she was, having no idea what was about to happen, but she just nodded.

Then suddenly, they were somewhere else. Next to them a river was flowing gently, the water rippling in the silent night. Zelda looked up, and then she knew where they were. It was Paris indeed. Not too far from them the Eiffel Tower was sparkling against the black sky.

“This view was always my favourite”, he said, but his eyes were resting on her.

Zelda huffed slightly, slipping away from him and breaking the physical contact. The Seine river was occupied with boats, softly gloating in the wind. It was still relatively busy even at this hour, the city seemed to pulsate with life.

She began walking down the river bank, towards one of the bridges which lead the way over to the Eiffel Tower and into the city. He was following her, eyes never leaving her. Without ever saying something, he reached for her hand again.

This she liked to blame on the alcohol later, and also the fact that she stopped in the middle of the bridge to turn around and kiss him. It was like in one of those romantic movies Hilda liked to watch, a couple standing on a bridge in Paris in the dark. Above them the stars were sparkling in the night’s sky.

Afterwards she led them to the Palais du Trocadero, the one point from which one had the best view on the Eiffel Tower. It was rather busy at this hour, but no one gave the two of them a second look. Most of the people were speaking French, but also English or German.

She turned around to Faustus, examining his face for a moment. “Why did you bring me here?” It was a genuine question.

He shrugged. “I thought it would make you happy.” Sounded genuine as well. “Besides Paris is quite romantic isn’t it?” Now he was more joking.

Zelda rolled her eyes at the words, not wanting to give an answer to that. It was indeed romantic, but she knew better than to let that impress her. Besides she didn’t want to fall for this man.

“Where else do you like to go?” he now asked. “When you’re here.”

Actually her favourite thing to do in Paris was either shopping or sitting on the banks of the Seine to read, but neither were options to do right now. So she just lead him away from the piazza, into the little alleyways which led through the city.   
  
There it was much emptier, not a single other person in sight. They walked in silence for a few moments, still holding hands. Zelda felt as if she had stumbled into a dream, only half conscious of what she was doing. She wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or just the overall situation.

At some point they stopped, finding themselves in a dead end. Around them small houses clouded the view and one was barely able to see anything but the sky. The moonlight was the only source of light.

He kissed her then, hungry and eagerly, and pressed her backwards against one of the stone walls. His tongue found his way into her mouth, teeth nibbling at her bottom lip. It seemed like the world had stopped to spin around the sun, everything but the two of them frozen in time.   
  
But of course it had not, and it took Zelda to realize this until his hands wandered under her dress. She pulled back slightly, trying to keep herself together. He was really making it hard, though. “Someone could come”, she whispered, not even half as urgent as she had meant to sound. Getting caught having sex somewhere in an alley in Paris was not on her to do list, actually.

Still, he only chuckled softly, kissing her neck. “Who cares?”

Zelda cared, but not enough to break it off and push him away. She had never been the conventional kind of girl, anyway.

They returned to Greendale at dawn, the sun already having begun to make its way up to the sky. It was only partly dark by now, but the Academy was still busy and music was playing loudly.

Zelda felt utterly tired, probably wearing about five new bruises in whatever places, but also a strange kind of happiness which she didn’t know from herself. It was even a little scary.

“I suppose next time we will have to go to London then”, Faustus smirked, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and pressing a kiss to her neck.

She felt her skin sparkle under the touch. “I suppose we do”, she replied, letting her body lean against his for a moment. It was oddly comforting, in every way.

But it was also late, and her brother was probably going to throw her in the pits of hell as soon as she returned home.

“I really need to go”, she muttered, almost sad about having to part. Although she would have never admitted that.

He let go of her, turning her around so she would face him. “Always lovely to spend time with you, Miss Spellman.”

She could not help to smile a little, biting her lip in amusement. “Perhaps you should be taking French class from now on”, she teased him, causing him to roll his eyes at her.

Then he kissed her, barely more than a quick touch of their lips, before letting go of her completely. Suddenly she was very cold again, and not only because she had returned the jacket to him.

Teleporting to the Spellman yard was the easy part, slipping inside without being heard the harder one. Zelda made the door lock open with a snip of her fingers, entering the hallway in utter silence. Carefully she waited for a few seconds, listening into the silence of the house.

Suddenly the light was turned on, and her brother was leaning in the kitchen doorway.

Zelda was praying to Satan that Faustus had only left marks where the dress would cover it. Although she doubted it. Subtly she pulled her hair in front of her face a little more. “Edward”, she noted, smiling weakly.

He huffed slightly, but fortunately didn’t move any closer. “Your sister came home hours ago.”

“I don’t think it’s adequate to compare my behaviour to hers”, she replied, crossing her arms. Hilda probably hadn’t even known what parties were until yesterday, and she could hardly fit in at one.

Her brother was still silent, eyeing her closely. But then he only nodded. “Good night Zee.” With that he turned away and disappeared in the kitchen.   
  
She stared after him, genuinely surprised at such a reaction. Still she made sure to hurry upstairs, fearing he might change his mind and decide to ground her after all.

When she slipped into bed, the image of the Eiffel Tower was spooking through her mind. And the feeling of Faustus Blackwood’s lips on hers. That made it hard to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think in the comments <33


	8. Addictive

The next weeks seemed to fly by, Zelda barely realizing that any time had passed at all. Hiding got more and more easy, Faustus and her finding the thrill in secret meetings, stolen kisses and glances, just in front of her brother’s eyes. It was a game they never grew tired of playing, and which only got easier the longer it dragged on.

Two months had passed since she had transferred to the Academy, and by now she was much deeper into this relationship, if one needed to use such a term, than she liked to admit. They never spoke about what they were – rarely spoke at all, really – but it felt different. More commited.

She had almost forgotten about the possibility of Edward finding out, just until one day she returned from the Academy and he was already waiting for her.

Zelda opened the door to the Spellman’s house, letting it fall shut behind her and slipping out of her coat. It was raining outside, the sound echoing through the silent house. Hilda was still at school, stuck in the library studying Herbalism and Latin, as far as she knew. The yearly exams were approaching quickly, and Hilda had quite some work to catch up on.

She walked into the kitchen, planning to pour herself some tea. Actually she had thought her brother would be either in the basement or not at home, but as she came into the room he was sitting on the kitchen table.

“Edward”, she greeted him, smiling mildly.

Instantly she noticed that something was off, just about the way he was not answering.

Therefore she tried again. “Is something wrong?” she wanted to know, leaning backwards against the kitchen counter while eyeing him carefully. This was very unusual from him.

He stood up very slowly, now facing her. “I could ask you the same, Zee.” There was a slight pause. “Is there something you wish to tell me?”   
  
Her whole body tensed, and Zelda could feel herself slightly tremble with nervousness. “No, should there be something?” she replied smoothly, adding an innocent smile. Lying was easy for her, but her brother was quite skilled to see through them usually.

As expected, Edward did not believe her. “Are you sure?” he followed up, tone very urging.

 _For the love of Lucifer, how had he found out?_ They had always been careful. Apart from the one time Hilda had walked in on them, but that had been weeks ago. Zelda wasn’t even sure if her sister knew that it was still going on. She had never picked up the topic ever again.

Still, perhaps she had told Edward now because Zelda had refused to study Latin with her. Maybe she was annoyed about that. Oh, she was dying for her sister to try the Cain Pit. That would be such fun.

“Very sure”, Zelda answered her brother, still smiling confidently. If he knew something he would have to say it himself.

Edward cleared his throat. His eyes were piercing through her like burning iron. “I can’t believe you’re doing this, Zee.” He shook his head slowly. “I would have thought you to be more responsible than this.”   
She was half tempted to roll her eyes, but resisted. For her own good. Edward would be angry enough with her, no need to provoke him any further. Still, she hardly cared what her brother might have to say about her and Faustus Blackwood. It was her own life, and she could live it however she pleased. Another thing she never spoke out loud.

Instead she responded with silence, crossing her arms.

“Besides you lied to me, all this time.” Now he sounded entirely accusing. He was trying to appeal to her conscience. “You went behind my back, the one thing I told you to never do!” His voice was growing louder.

Actually, there was more than one thing he had forbid her to do. She listened to neither of them. Zelda shrugged. “I didn’t want you to get all worked up about it”, she defended herself. _Like he was right now._ “I’m an adult”, she added. Her life, her decisions.

Edward frowned deeply. “I’m responsible for you, since Mom and Dad are gone.”

Now he was trying to make her feel sad, amazing strategy. She rolled her eyes, attempting to appear unbothered.

What did he care who she slept with, anyway. He hadn’t cared enough to stop her from being sent away to Europe, and he had not cared enough either when Hilda had gotten everything from their parents and Zelda nothing. There was no point in starting now.

“Is this because of them?” her brother asked, still furrowing his brows. “You never should have gone to Europe.”

Was this guilt tripping? She wasn’t sure. Besides she sure as hell was not sleeping with Faustus Blackwood because of her dead parents. That was the stupidest thing she had ever heard.

Actually she just wanted a change of topic, and an end to this conversation. It would turn out badly for her anyway. “How did you find out?” she therefore wanted to know. “Did Hilda tell you?” The words slipped before she could think twice about them, but she instantly regretted having said something.

Her brother looked at her in confusion. “Your sister _knew?”_

Oh Lucifer,she continued to dig her own grave here. Swiftly, she smiled. “She caught me in the act, one might say.” The truth after all. Sadly.

Edward looked everything but pleased. “No, she did not inform me.” He made a pause before continuing. “I found something in your room.”   
  
Instantly, she panicked. Had she left a pack of condoms lying around? If she had really been this stupid, she deserved to be caught. But she couldn’t remember doing anything of the sort, and that made her even more nervous.

Her brother reached into his pockets, and what he pulled out made Zelda more relieved than she might ever have imagined.

_A pack of cigarettes._

Internally she praised Satan in every language she knew, while remaining utterly calm on the outside. “Oh”, she just remarked. As if she had not just barely escaped a heart attack.

“That’s all you have to say?” Edward hissed back, now visibly upset. “Do you have even the faintest idea what smoking does to your health?”

He was almost as melodramatic as Hilda. “Calm down, Edward”, she replied, almost slightly amused. “Besides it’s none of your business what I do.”

She better should not have said that. Her brother looked furious. “You’re grounded.”

Zelda frowned. “I have classes to attend.” Not that she paid attention anyway. And it wouldn’t hurt to miss a few. But that was not what made her angry about this.

Her brother shrugged. “You will manage without them for a few days.”

“You can’t _force_ me to stay!” she hissed, tone now very obviously angry. There was no denying that fact anymore.

Of course he could, though. “I’ll bind you to the house”, Edward replied, suddenly very calm.

She took a deep breath, attempting to collect herself. “Do as you please”, she snapped back, turning away to leave. The blood was boiling in her veins. “I don’t care.” But she did, and he knew very well that she did.   
  
Although she was aware that he would probably lift the ban in like two days, only wanting to teach her a lesson, it was making her furious. Why did he always have to interfere with her life? She could very well do things on her own.

Zelda slammed the door to her room shut behind her, instantly enchanting the door lock so it would not open. Edward should try and come in here, she dared him to do so. Barely a second later she heard the door to the basement close. Her brother had gone down to the library.

As quickly as possible she gathered some candles, lighting them on the floor of her room. Then she lied down on the wooden planks, staring at the ceiling. Actually Astral Projecting was not something to attempt alone, and this was her first time, but she merely cared. How hard could it be?

She closed her eyes, envisioning the place she wanted to go. It almost felt like her insides being ripped out for a bare second, and when she opened her lids she was somewhere else.

Blackwood residency was no smaller than the Spellman’s house, and laid deep in the Greendale woods. Zelda had wanted to knock, but of course she couldn’t in her spiritual form. The real her was still lying in her bedroom between all those candles.

She felt nothing when passing through the door and into the main hall of the building, looking around her. However she was aware that she didn’t have much time, before it got dangerous.

Luckily for her she seemed to have been noticed, since Faustus joined her in the room barely a second later. “Zelda”, he said in surprise. “I didn’t expect you to be here.” It did not sound unpleasant, though.

Behind them the first psychopomp landed on the window sill, tilting his head and eyeing her with piercing black eyes.

“You’re astral projecting”, he noticed.

She smiled weakly, wondering why she had even come. Was the thought of not being with him for a couple of days really that distressing? She knew her answer already. “Edward bound me to the house”, she explained quickly. “He didn’t say anything about my spirit though.”   
  
A second psychopomp joined the other.

Faustus chuckled slightly. “And why would he do that?”

She shrugged, rolling her eyes. “We had a little… argument.” That was mildly stated. But not what she had wanted to discuss, anyway. “I thought you might want to _join me_ in my sorrow tonight”, she said as sweetly as she could, attempting an innocent tone. He knew what she was implying. “Since I can’t leave.”

Instantly his face lighted up, a smirk forming on his lips. “Sure.”

By now there were three little sparrows watching the conversation play out.

Zelda eyed them nervously. How many until she was stuck in the Astral plane forever? She had not studied her book that far. She had no idea. “I should go”, she said, just to be on the safe side.

He nodded, still smirking. “I’ll see you later.”   
  
The words made her heart flutter in a way only he managed to create.

Getting back into her body was surprisingly harder than leaving, and when she woke up back in her own room she was glad to have managed. It had been quite fun, though. She enjoyed a challenge.

It was not much later when Faustus teleported into her room. Zelda was sitting on her bed, legs crossed and absorbed in her conjuring book. It was volume four, not actually the one they dealt with in her seminar, but she had stolen it from Edward. She knew everything in her own class already, anyway, so where was the harm.

Faustus sat down next to her, glancing into the open book. “Conjuring of demons and other creatures from hell”, he read, raising an eyebrow. “I hope you’re not getting any ideas.” There might even have been a hint of worry behind the words.

Zelda smiled, closing the book. “Why not? Who wouldn’t want to summon a demon?” It was indeed quite exciting, even thinking about it. One day she might try it herself.

He was shifting closer, eyes never letting go of hers. They were like magnets, constantly pulling each other in and then pushing away.

When he kissed her Zelda felt herself longing for more, like she had not just seen him yesterday. Her fingers curled up in the collar of his shirt, beginning to unbutton it. He opened the zip of her dress, pulling it down onto her hips.

“Did you lock the door this time?” he whispered into her ear, the feeling of his lips on her skin making a shiver run down her spine.

She was barely able to nod, feeling her brain not working properly anymore. Even after all this time, he still managed to drive her crazy.

Faustus pulled her into his lap, lips never parting. His tongue had slipped into her mouth, playing with hers, while his fingers opened the clasp of her bra on her back.

Quickly she opened his belt and pants, breathing heavily when his lips began to suck at the skin of her neck. She could feel his teeth sinking into it softly, making her tremble.

Finally he pushed her dress up, allowing Zelda to lower herself onto him. A moan escaped her when he entered her, rolling her hips against his body while burying her fingers in his hair to hold onto him. Her nails were scratching over his bare back, leaving red marks.

It was thrilling, exciting, and everything else it could be.

“If Edward comes in and ruins the moment I might have to try this Cain Pit of yours”, he breathed against her neck, his hot breath dancing across her skin.

Zelda laughed, breathing heavily while pressing herself closer onto him. There was not an inch of space between their bodies. “Let him try”, she half gasped, feeling herself sliding closer to the edge.

When she came her nails drew blood at his neck, and she almost screamed in ecstasy when he hit just the right spot. He was quick to silence her with his lips on hers, coming with her and holding onto her as tight as possible.

Afterwards he pushed her down onto the bed, never interrupting the kiss. He finally got her out of the dress entirely, and his jeans followed. His lips travelled down her chest, sucking at the sensitive skin. Purple marks stood in sharp contrast to her pale skin.

He continued tracing kisses over her belly, and further down. His teeth dug into the lace fabric of her panties, pulling it down ever so slowly.

Zelda felt herself trembling with impatience, burying her fingers in the fabric of the tangled sheets, clutching onto them as hard as she could. She might as well rip them.

When his head disappeared between her legs, she could not help but think that she might have gotten addicted to this man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm always happy to read your comments <3


	9. Be my Baby

As expected, Edward had her bound to the house no longer than two days, muttering something about how she needed to go back to the Academy and take her classes as an excuse. Her brother had never been the most consequent, but he liked his disciplinary measures. He justified his sudden softness with the fact that exams were around the corner, although Zelda had finished the stuff for her seminar weeks ago and was already reading the books for advance students. The ones she could get her hands on, for that matter, since some of them were under lock in the Academy’s library.

Hilda on the other hand was struggling with her classes, and Edward had forced Zelda to study Latin with her in exchange for letting her keep her cigarettes. And so she sat in the kitchen, smoking one after one while her sister was brabbling Latin words, all the wrong tense anyway. Not a single sentence made sense.

Zelda had a gift for languages, having to barely look at a few words and then knowing the entire grammar by heart, but whoever she had gotten it from seemed to have had nothing left for Hilda. Latin was a requirement for first year students, and so she couldn’t even ditch it like she had done with French or Spanish.

But it was tedious to study it with her, especially since Zelda had no idea whatsoever how to help. She knew everything, but had never studied it.

At some point she had grown too tired of her sister’s mistakes, damning the cigarettes and leaving for the Academy. Should Edward teach Hilda, he always said that he was such a great teacher. Time to prove it, then.

It was barely after 5pm, the halls of the school utterly empty. Most were at home or in the library studying, but it was not until she walked outside into the yard when she found who she was looking for.

Faustus Blackwood was sitting in the Academy’s garden in the grass, books and papers piled up in front of him. He seemed to be deeply absorbed with studying, not looking up until she sat down next to him.

“What are you reading?” she interrupted, leaning over to glance inside the pages. Demonology, from the looks of it.

He seemed pleased about her interference, his dark eyes sparkling in the sunlight. Although it was still rather early in the year, it was already warm and one could sit outside comfortably without freezing.   
  
“Higher demons”, he said to answer her question, eyeing her carefully. “Shouldn’t you be studying too?”

Zelda shrugged. “I know everything in my seminar anyway.”

He smirked rather amused. “Then perhaps you should stop reading the end of your books first.” Edward had obviously told him about this, since her brother had just yesterday given her a lecture about it after she had asked if it was possible to transfer to a higher grade.

“Did you speak to Edward?” Zelda wanted to know, biting her lip while picking up one of his books and skipping through the pages.

He chuckled, taking the book from her. Their hands barely touched, but she felt her heart flutter a little. “He did”, Faustus confirmed. “Told me that you’re overestimating yourself greatly.”

Zelda smiled. That sounded a lot like her brother. “I guess it runs in the family”, she responded dryly. Except Hilda of course. Who knew where she had gotten her working spirit from. Their mother, perhaps. She had never been the best of witches either. Hilda was beginning to be a lot like her. “Also it’s not my fault that all the people in my grade are barely able to hex a mouse”, Zelda added.

This topic gave her the perfect transition to what she had been wanting to discuss, though. Again, she reached for one of his books. _Advanced Demonology volume four._ Edward only kept them up to volume three in his library, and she was done with those already. “Can I have this?” she wanted to know, making her voice sound extra sweet. She even added an innocent smile.

Again, he laughed. But he wasn’t able to resist her, naturally. “Go ahead.” He leaned in a little closer. “Just don’t let Edward know.”

Zelda smiled, pressing the book to her chest. “I won’t.”

Their eyes met for a moment, and he reached out to tuck a loose curl behind her ear which the wind had blown into her face. “Don’t try out the spells on your own”, he said quietly, even with a hint of concern in his voice. But this might have just been an excuse to spend more time together, she wasn’t sure.

Then he leaned in to kiss her, but she moved back. People might see, and she could do without the gossip that would bring. Edward might even hear those rumours then.

She tried to play it off as teasing, biting her lip and playing with her hair, but he noticed anyway. If she was not mistaken there might have been a tiny bit of hurt in his eyes.

Still, there was something she wanted to talk about. The reason she had come. “You have access to the library for advanced students, right?” It was meant to be an innocent question, but she knew that he saw through it anyway.

“I do”, he replied, raising a brow in her direction. “Why?”

Zelda played with the book in her hands, thinking about how to address the topic best. In the end she decided to just say it. “Would you be able to get me in?”

Faustus sighed, and something told her he had expected this question. He ran a hand through his hair. “That’s impossible. A spell protects it, you can’t teleport inside.”

She shrugged. “What about astral projection?” It was dangerous, but her motto had always been no risk no fun. In every aspect of life, really.

“Impossible”, he repeated, shaking his head. “The High Priest isn’t an idiot, you know.” It was teasing, and he smirked slightly. There was something else to come. “But maybe I would be able to sneak something _out_ for you.”

Now they were talking. Zelda merely shifted closer, looking around herself if someone was watching for a second. But the garden was utterly empty, everyone seeming to be inside.

She kissed him then, letting her tongue run over his bottom lip and burying her fingers in his hair. He pulled her closer at the waist, so that their bodies would touch, almost into his lap. But she resisted ever so slightly, keeping the little bit of distance that was still there. She didn’t want to take this too far.

They broke apart, still close enough to make her heartbeat race. She was breathing slightly heavier, the kiss having been much more intense than intended.

“I have one condition”, he said quietly, running a hand through her hair before letting go. His eyes were gleaming with amusement, but his tone was serious.

Zelda expected something along the lines of sexual favours, and she would probably have agreed just like that, but what he said instead almost made her jaw drop.

“I want you to tell Edward about us.”

She stared at him for a moment, startled. Where was this coming from now? She opened her mouth to say something, but the right words wouldn’t come out. So she closed it again.

Faustus was eyeing her, never letting his glance shift somewhere else. There was something about his expression which she couldn’t quite pin point, something much softer than she usually knew from him.

“Why?” Zelda finally managed to get out, nervously wringing her hands. This was not what she had been wanting to hear at all.

He tilted his head slightly, taking his time before answering. “Why not?” he eventually returned the question.

Zelda took a deep breath. He knew exactly why not. “Because he’s going to bury me in the Cain Pit once he finds out.” That was not even exaggerated, it sounded right up Edward’s alley.

Faustus sighed. “I won’t let him”, he simply said, still sounding very serious.

The concern was really touching. Why did he suddenly wish to tell her brother? Things were fine the way they were. Right? Suddenly she wasn’t so sure anymore. She pressed her lips together, debating whether to answer or not.

But he made that decision for her, by saying something even more absurd. “I don’t want to hide this anymore, Zelda.” He reached for her hand, slightly pulling her closer.

 _This._ Whatever that was supposed to mean. She cleared her throat, feeling herself getting more and more nervous. “I can’t tell Edward”, she replied, shaking her head. “He won’t ever let me leave the house again.” Perhaps it was partly an excuse for her own fear of taking this too far, but it was also partly true. Her brother most likely would not be very pleased if he knew.

Faustus leaned in closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. Their faces were very close now. “What we have is special.” His breath was tickling on her skin. “That isn’t just me, right?”

Zelda sighed, trying to look anywhere but his eyes. She was afraid to get lost. It didn’t work very well though, since they seemed to draw her in magically, like two magnets. “I don’t know”, she replied, attempting to keep her answer rather vague.

But he knew her too well by now, and probably did anything but believe the rather badly told lie. He pressed a kiss to her neck, teasingly biting into the skin. It was enough to make her tremble slightly. “Are you sure?” he whispered, voice low and raw.

She closed her eyes for a bare second, but she couldn’t help the little smile. “Maybe you still have to convince me”, she teased.

He chuckled lightly, suddenly pushing her down so she they would lie in the grass of the garden. His lips met hers, tongue playfully poking against hers while his hands found their way under her blouse, stroking her bare skin.

“Are we good about the library book then?” she breathed against his lips, curling up her hands in the fabric of his shirt. By now she didn’t even care who might see. It was too delicious to stop here.

He placed more kisses on her neck, softly sucking at the skin. “Only if you tell Edward”, he replied in between.

Zelda rolled her eyes, while trying to normalize her breathing. This man was driving her insane with every touch. By now his hands had found her bra, letting his fingers run over the lacy fabric. “People will see”, she muttered, biting her lip to stop herself from enjoying it too much. It was a dangerous game they were playing.

“Let them”, he countered, opening the upper button of her blouse and travelling further down with his lips.

By now it was getting really hard for her to think straight. But she wanted that book. “I’ll tell him in a few weeks”, she half gasped, since his lips had now reached her breasts. If someone came out into the garden right now she would really be in trouble. But that was something to worry about later.

He stopped for a moment, moving back up and leaning over her face. “One week”, he whispered, lips almost touching hers. She was longing for his touch.

This was a really unfair situation, and Zelda knew that. “Fine”, she replied, not really intending in honouring her part of the deal though. At least not in this moment.

Faustus smiled. “Great.” Then, to her despair, he pulled back.

That was making her really mad, actually. But Zelda wasn’t going to let him slip away that easily, and with another brief look around herself she quickly sat up and climbed into his lap. He seemed rather surprised when she captured his lips with hers, but not unpleasantly.

“I thought people could see”, he teased her, letting his fingers dance across the skin of her back, tracing her spine. It sent shivers racing over her body. Her blouse was still half open, and so he continued to suck at the skin of her neck and chest.

By now, Zelda didn’t even care anymore. The High Priest could come out and she wouldn’t be bothered. Her hands moved down his body, beginning to open his jeans. It was risky, everyone could see, but didn’t that make it all the more exciting?

Faustus pulled her dress up, so that she could let herself sink down onto him. She exhaled sharply when he pushed inside her, pressing her lips together to silence herself. People didn’t exactly have to _hear_ everything that was going on.

She moved her hips slowly on top of him, Faustus burying his hands in the waistband of her skirt. A slight bit more and he might have ripped it. Which would not have been very fortunate.

He groaned when he came inside her, and she followed just seconds after. Their lips met again, his teeth biting down onto her bottom lip. He knew how much she loved that.

Zelda was gasping when she pulled away, slowly letting herself sink down into the grass. Her fingers were trembling when she attempted to button her blouse, chest rising and falling heavily. Her heartbeat was still racing, her entire body seeming to prickle.   
  
When she was finally managed to dress herself again she sat up, running a hand through her hair. It was probably a big mess. He did have quite the obsession with her hair she had noticed.

“So”, Faustus began, already smirking again. “One week.” He was breathing slightly heavily too. She was glad to notice.   
  
Zelda rolled her eyes, smoothing out her skirt. “Then I want more than one book!”

He laughed, running a hand through his now very messy hair. She had done quite the job. “That was not part of the deal”, he replied eventually.

She crossed her arms, eyeing him. “Neither was pressuring me with sex, was it?” She smiled as sweetly as possible. “Two books?”

Faustus sighed. “Whatever you want.”

Zelda was quite content with how this had played out, suddenly realizing how much time had passed. She was about to miss dinner. Not that she was eager to return to the Spellman house, but she had little choice. “I need to get going”, she muttered, taking one last attempt to fix her hair. A spell would have to do, later.

He kissed her goodbye, longer and deeply than necessary. But she enjoyed those little moments more than she would ever admit, and also felt a strange sort of happiness she could not quite describe.

“I’ll see you tomorrow”, he whispered against her lips, placing another small kiss on her forehead. That was the first time ever this had happened, and she was quite surprised. But it was nice, and so she just smiled before teleporting herself into the Spellman’s yard.

Somehow, what they had was beginning to feel like a relationship. But was it one?   
  
What was she even supposed to tell her brother? ‘ _I’m sleeping with Faustus Blackwood, your biggest rival’_? Not the best kick off for a conversation perhaps.

But she still had some time to think about that, since Zelda was planning to drag out the moment for a little longer. She wasn’t ready to face her brother’s wrath just yet.

At this point, she didn’t know that things would turn out to end very differently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how do you think edward will take it, what is gonna happen next etc?? <3


	10. Honest

It was two days later, during the break between two seminars. Zelda had just finished Latin class, and was now facing a spare hour before her next class would start. She could have done it like most of the students and sat down in the library to study, but that would be dreadfully boring and she would probably have to listen to Hilda’s endless ranting about how tough and unfair this school was. Not something she looked forward to, exactly.

Which was why she searched for something else to do, mindlessly wandering the hallways of the school. She was wondering if Faustus had seminar right now, because he still had to give her those books she was promised.

Indeed she spotted him in the great hall, casually leaned against the Satanic statue in the middle of the room and reading a book. Gladly, Edward was nowhere to be seen.

Quickly she walked over to him, stopping just far enough away that it would be considered appropriate distance. There were people all around them, after all. “Mr Blackwood”, she greeted, not quite able to hide the grin on her lips.

He closed the book, raising a brow at her. “Miss Spellman, delighted to see you.” It sounded terribly formal.

“Can we talk somewhere more private?” she wanted to know, crossing her arms and glancing around her nervously. She felt like everyone was staring at them, but of course no one was. Just her imagination running freely. It was a little paranoid even.

For a moment he considered, but then nodded. “Of course.” He led her away from the hall, opening a door and checking into one of the classrooms. It was empty, fortunately, which was why they slipped inside.

Zelda quickly enchanted the lock, just to be sure. Who knew what they might spent that left over hour doing… “Do you have my books?” she asked, turning around to face him, smiling a little. It was nice to see him, every time.

Almost out of a habit, he leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met slowly, Zelda resting her hands on his neck and pressing her body against his. Her nails softly dug into his skin, just enough to make the kiss a little more spicy.

“I do”, he whispered when they parted, still staying close to each other. Faustus wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up easily with one arm and sitting her down on one of the tables. Then he placed another light kiss on her lips.

Her hands were still on his neck, stroking the skin. His warmth was radiating, filling her from within. She never wanted to part again. At this point there really was no denying that it was not purely physical anymore.

He reached into his bag and pulled two books out, placing them in her hands. They both looked ancient and were at least a thousand pages thick. Zelda opened the first one, letting her fingers drift over the paper. It felt deliciously forbidden, knowing that those most probably held some sort of dark magic. She would have to try out some of those spells…

“Thank you”, she breathed, putting the books away in her own bag and wrapping her arms back around his neck to shift closer.

Their lips joined again, the kiss more hungry this time and all teeth and tongue really. His hands moved under her skirt, dancing over her thighs. The touch sent shivers over her skin.

Then suddenly, there was a sound behind them. Faustus moved backwards slightly, leaving the smallest of spaces between their lips. Someone was trying to open the door.

Zelda sighed. “They’re spoiling all the fun.” This was the wrong moment to get interrupted. But the spell was still holding on, so maybe that someone would just turn around and leave.

Faustus was back at kissing her neck, letting his teeth sink into the skin and softly nibbling at it. She felt herself breathing more heavily, while trying to ignore the door situation.

However that turned out to be a great mistake, since barely a second later someone was standing in the doorway. And that someone, out of all people, was her brother.

Edward was staring at the two of them in shock, expression an equal mixture of fury and utter confusion.

Instantly she moved away, like she had been struck by lightning. Faustus turned around, covering her with his body. Fortunately, he seemed a lot less likely to panic than Zelda. “Edward”, he noticed mildly, even smiling politely. “Can I help you?” Like he had not just been caught undressing his sister on a table in an empty classroom.

Zelda buried her nails in his shoulder, feeling her entire body tense. This was not how it had been supposed to go. She was almost hiding behind Faustus. Like that would make anything better. To make matters worse she probably had a hickey somewhere on her neck.

Her brother was still speechless, no sound audible apart from the door falling shut. His glance was shifting from Zelda to Faustus. That was not a good sign at all. It seemed to take an eternity until he regained his voice. “What is this?” he wanted to know, asking the most stupid question one could choose in this situation. The tension in the air was increasing with each passing second.

Zelda could not help herself. “What does it look like, Edward?” she replied, instantly regretting having blurted the words out like this. She jumped from the table, leaving the safety of Faustus’ body shielding her from her brother’s angry glances.

Edward seemed to try very hard not to snap instantly. “How long has this been going on?” he asked, voice dead serious. His face was frozen.

“Two weeks”, Zelda lied, but she couldn’t tell if it was convincing. Two months would have been more accurate, actually. But she really did not have a death wish.

Her brother shook his head, very slowly. “When I brought you back from Europe, I tried to do you a favour!” It was very close to yelling. “I didn’t expect you to run around like a _slut_ and jump at the next best guy like-” he broke off.

Those words actually had really hurt, and she was speechless for a moment. She had never been called a slut before, the feeling was not particularly nice. Especially not hearing it from her own brother. Besides, what was so wrong about sex? “You only brought me back from Europe to be able to control my every move!” she hissed back, and behind her one of the window’s shattered loudly. That had not been intended, actually.

“You’re a disgrace to the Spellman family name!” Edward continued, as enraged as ever. “I should have left you in Europe!” It was a miracle only one window was broken.

Behind her, Faustus was moving. “Edward!” he interfered, reaching for her hand and pulling her slightly away from her brother as if he feared he might jump at her any moment. Which wasn’t that far off, actually.

However this was not exactly calming Edward down. “You shut up”, he hissed. “And leave, while you’re at it!”

Faustus frowned, still holding onto Zelda’s hand. “You think I’ll leave her alone with you?” He huffed. “Definitely not.”

“Oh, now you pretend to care about her?” Edward almost laughed, his burning gaze piercing through Zelda. “Like she isn’t just another one of your conquests.”   
  
She felt herself slightly trembling, eyes already beginning to fill with tears. Quickly she blinked them away. This was hardly the right time to cry. “Edward stop”, she tried to interfere, voice brisk.

But neither of them listened.

By now Faustus’ eyes were glowing just as furiously. “I _do_ care”, he replied fiercely. “You’re the one acting like a tyrant!”   
  
This conversation really was not going as planned. Zelda felt more and more helpless, not knowing what to do. All she wanted to do was disappear. But she stood very still instead, almost frozen.

Edward huffed, nodding slowly. “So he has you wrapped around his finger, or what?” He was looking at his sister again.

She didn’t know what to answer, pressing her lips together in an attempt to collect herself. It was barely working. “Why do you care?” she replied, trying not to sound hurt. That failed entirely, her voice obviously shaking.

“Because I won’t let you ruin your reputation by… sleeping around”, Edward hissed back, stepping a little closer. “I mean it!”

It was very clear that he meant it. Still, Zelda was trying to object. “I can do whatever I want!” she argued, although she knew this was not an argument which was to be won.

Her brother shook his head slowly. “Not as long as I am head of this family!” His eyes seemed to burn holes into her. “We’re going home now!”

Faustus interrupted. “She’s certainly not going with you right now!” He sounded genuinely concerned.

Zelda felt like she was about to be suffocated, finding it more and more difficult to breathe. The room seemed to swallow her. She didn’t want to _go_ anywhere… all she wanted was to disappear. The tears were burning in her eyes, but she didn’t want either of them to see her cry. Her pride took the best of her there.

She had barely finished the thought, when suddenly the room around her wavered and disappeared. Merely a second later she was somewhere else.

People were hurrying past her, some bumping into her without even noticing. She had almost stumbled and fallen down, being utterly confused which what had happened. Actually she had _not_ wanted to teleport.

She looked around herself, instantly noticing the location. A few feet away, the Big Ben was towering high into the sky. The cloudy sky above herself and the river flowing behind it were unmistakable.

She was in London. That was a surprise, but everything was better than the Academy of Unseen Arts right now.

Out of fear that her brother could somehow follow her, she hurried away from the piazza and towards Westminster Bridge. A crowd of people was trying to pass, and it was difficult to get past them.

Only when she had crossed the river Thames her pace slowed down. Her heart was still racing in her chest, and by now tears were streaming down her face. Zelda wasn’t even sure why she was crying, but it just happened naturally. Some people looked at her funnily, but the English were to polite to point such a thing out.

At some point she sat down on a bench near the river bank, being able to see the Big Ben and Houses of Parliament from her position. Next to her, a few birds were picking corn from the ground. She whipped the tears away, attempting to calm herself. Where was she supposed to go? Actually she was half considering to stay in England, go back to the Academy she had stayed in while being here.

But there was the issue of her missing Faustus, already now. Still going back to Greendale seemed much too overwhelming, and so she just kept sitting there, staring out onto the water and listening to the bells of Big Ben ringing.

She was still sitting there when the sun went down, a huge red ball disappearing behind the horizon. By now the tears had dried, left only a certain hollowness which she couldn’t quite explain. Like she had been struck across the face. Which she had, in a way, just with words.

Zelda had finished half of the first book already, when the streets had emptied a bit and London began to grow more silent.

No one had yet stopped by the bench to sit down or even looked at her. Zelda was glad about that. Which was why she was slightly worried when a dark figure seemed to move towards her, face hidden within the shadow. By now everything was mostly dark, only source of light being the street lights.

But as closer as he came the clearer she was about who he was. Her heart felt a little less heavy as soon as she realized.

Faustus sat down next to her, looking at her with such worry that it made her question the fact that they did not indeed have a relationship at this point. “I’m sorry”, was the first thing he said, and Zelda knew he meant it. The sorrow in his voice was unmistakable.

She smiled weakly, not wanting to cry again. There had been enough tears shed today. “How did you find me?” she wanted to know.

He shifted closer, letting his fingers run through her hair. “I guessed that you would go to your favourite city, which would be London, and then I used a location spell.”   
Honestly she was quite touched that he remembered, and had found her so quickly. “What did Edward do?” she asked quietly. Although it would be better not to know.

He sighed, still playing with her hair. Obviously dreading the answer. “Yelling some more. Some curses.” He attempted a smile. “Nothing unexpected.”

Zelda bit her lip so hard that it hurt. There was nothing she could answer which felt fitting, so she opted for silence. That was always easier.

“What do you want to do now?” Faustus asked carefully.

There weren’t a lot of options, really. “I don’t know”, she replied truthfully. Again she felt like crying. But tears never made anything better. They never helped.

His fingers softly cupped her cheek. “We could stay here.”   
  
The words came so unexpected that she looked up in surprise. “What?” she blurted out.

Faustus shrugged. “We don’t have to go back to Greendale. Let’s stay in London, go to the Academy here.” It sounded like a serious offer.

She was half tempted to take it, agree and just be done with it all. But that wasn’t possible. “We can’t”, she responded. “I can’t just leave my family.” Besides, why did he suddenly want to run away with her? She eyed him carefully, still doubtful.

Somehow he must have noticed, since he moved slightly closer, now reaching for her hands. His face was very close to hers. “Just you and me, here”, he whispered.

It sounded very tempting, too good to be true. Zelda pressed her lips together, debating whether to ask the obvious question or not. “I-” she began, lips not able to form the right words. She was utterly lost.

He seemed to sense that, since he continued to speak. “I want this. I want _us._ ” His eyes locked with hers, never letting go. “I fell in love with you, Zelda. The moment I first saw you.”   
  
She felt her heartbeat quickening, pulse instantly racing. Her lungs seemed to stop working. For a few seconds she only stared into his eyes, unable to do anything. Then, later not certain why, she leaned forward to kiss him.

It was different than usual, slow and soft, rather than biting and tearing at one another. His hands ran through her hair. The kiss seemed to last an eternity, the world having changed after they broke apart.   
  
Suddenly it was all different.

Zelda was still not able to think entirely straight, feeling slightly dizzy. Like she had stumbled into a dream. Maybe she had.

“We can’t stay”, she muttered, still letting her forehead rest against his. “I need to… make this right.” Her brother would calm down, she knew he would. He always did eventually.

Faustus did not look utterly happy with her decision, but he nodded. “Not tonight”, he insisted, though. “Come to my house.”

That was quite the new offer, but not a bad one necessarily. “Alright”, she agreed slowly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. A chilly wind was rising, and it was beginning to get cold. English weather was rather unforgiving.

“Let’s go”, he said, taking his hands into hers.

And in that moment, everything was alright for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you like this one! <3 the story was set to be 20 chapters but i don't think i'll manage that so i'm trying to reach 25 haha we'll see


	11. Give me a Chance

The next morning Zelda woke up in tangled sheets and with messy hair, not even having removed her make up the day before. The stain of red lipstick was still on her lips. Her head was resting on Faustus’ chest, and she was wrapped up in his arms. It was a nice feeling, actually, and she remained in it quite a while after she had woken up, not wanting to part just yet. Sleeping in his bed was different, but not unpleasantly so and she found herself thinking that she could get used to it.

Later they ate breakfast, although sparsely because neither of them could cook. Magic did help quite the bit, though, and so it turned out to be fine. It was not until after that Zelda noticed that she had probably missed about four seminars at the Academy, and her mind returned to her brother at last.

She stared into her cup of coffee, tapping off the excess ash of her morning cigarette. What would Edward do now? She had tried a more or less successful attempt of a hiding spell, so he wouldn’t be able to locate her the same way Faustus had done, but he would still try to find her, wouldn’t he?

She couldn’t help but wonder if he even still cared, taking a long drag from her cigarette. The bitter taste almost matched with how she was feeling. Actually she had never seen him so mad before, and it had frightened her quite a bit. Although she didn’t entirely understand why.

Her eyes drifted over to Faustus, who was sitting across her reading the paper and sipping his coffee. “Why do you think Edward was so mad?” she asked into the silence, drawing on her cigarette again. It wasn’t making her feel better.

Faustus furrowed his brows, setting his cup on the table. “I don’t think he likes the thought of his sister with anyone”, he replied mildly, but she got the impression that there was something else.

“I’ve never seen him this angry”, she added, stirring in her coffee. Watching the liquid turmoil around made her feel calm. As calm as she could be currently. “He knows that… I’ve been with people before.” She tried to phrase it as vaguely as possible, not wanting to elaborate on that particular bit of her European history. Edward had his way of finding out things, and he knew that she had enjoyed herself in Europe with quite a few people, but never had she seen him freak about it as much as the day before.

Faustus sighed, now reaching for his coffee to take a large sip. Then he put it down again, obviously nervous. The paper followed. “Well, he knows that about me too.”

Zelda frowned, not quite getting the connection.

“Which is probably why he wasn’t too keen on you being with me”, he added, running a hand through his hair. “There have been some… incidents. With other girls.”

Now she understood. “Oh”, she remarked, leaning back in her chair. That was a reasonable explanation. She drew on her cigarette once more, before putting it out in the ashtray which sat next to her coffee. Perhaps it also explained Edward calling her a slut.

He sighed again, eyeing her nervously. “I didn’t want to bring the topic up, actually.”

That was a good idea, probably. She didn’t need to hear any details. “I agree”, she replied, taking a sip of coffee. She was no angel either, and had quite some stories with guys as well. Only those warlocks were all in Europe, where they couldn’t spill those particular secrets to anyone in Greendale. _Lucky her_.

Just in this second, there was a knock on the door. Zelda didn’t need magic to know who was standing outside in the yard. Her eyes shifted to Faustus, silently asking what to do.

He stood up, very slowly. “Stay here”, he told her, leaving the kitchen. His footsteps echoed through the empty house.

Obviously she didn’t listen, following him but hiding behind one of the door frames so she would not be seen. The wood was cold against her skin when she leaned against it.

Faustus opened the door, blocking her view with his body. “Edward”, he said in a cool voice. “Wish I could say I am delighted to see you.”

“Where is she?” her brother’s voice asked, already sounding rather angry. “She’s with you, right?”

Zelda bit her lip, biting down so hard she drew blood. Then she stepped out of the shadows, carefully walking through the hall. “It’s fine”, she told Faustus quietly. “I can handle this.”   
  
They exchanged a long look, and he seemed everything but happy with this decision. But in the end he did not object, only opened the door further to let her brother inside.

Edward’s eyes rested on her for a few seconds, still wearing the outfit she had worn the day before. “I wasn’t aware you had developed the gift of teleporting”, he began, starting the conversation in the most odd way one could imagine.

It was almost amusing. “I wasn’t aware calling your sister a slut is an acceptable way to get your point across”, she replied dryly, crossing her arms. Gladly her voice was steady, she hadn’t been sure it would hold on.

Her brother glanced over to Faustus, who was still standing next to her. There was something he was meaning to say, but holding back.

“Just say it Edward, in Satan’s name”, Zelda snapped, sounding much more confident than she was actually feeling. But she was good at playing a role. Always had been.

Her brother huffed. “He changes his girls faster than his clothes.” He made a pause to let the words sink in properly. “It won’t last longer than two weeks.”   
  
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _That_ argument again. “That’s great because it’s been two months already.” She added an innocent smile, watching Edward’s facial expression change to horror.

“What?” he hissed back, not even trying to keep his voice down. “You have been lying to me for two entire months?” Now he was absolutely furious. Again.

Zelda was not sure what she could say to make things better. “I don’t care what you think”, was what she chose to go with, probably utterly the wrong choice. “Why can’t you just let me do what I want?”

A silence followed the words, which was making things only worse. Edward was staring at her with fury, eyes practically burning. He was ringing for words.

“It’s all a game to you, isn’t it?” he asked after a while, suddenly utterly calm. But that was even more worrying.

Zelda raised an eyebrow. “What?” she asked, startled. She had no idea what he was implying now.

Next to her, Faustus was shifting nervously. He had not said a word the entire time.

Her brother took a deep breath. “I will be the next High Priest. No matter how you try to discredit me!”

Now this was an absurd theory. “Why does everything always have to be about you?” Zelda snapped back, slowly losing her patience. But she wasn’t ready to back down just yet. “I don’t care about you being High Priest.” For a moment, her voice felt so brisk that she was fearing it might give up on her. “Can’t you just let me live my own life for once?”

“Edward”, Faustus interfered, obviously thinking that she wasn’t able to continue speaking for much longer. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m not trying to sabotage you.” He frowned. “This has nothing to do with you.”   
  
Her brother was glancing back and forth between the two of them, still wearing his frozen expression. The silence was beginning to get uncomfortable.

Finally, Edward spoke again. “Do what you want.” His tone was very calm. “But don’t come crying to me when it all goes down in flames.” He was trying very hard to make it sound like he did not care, but Zelda knew very well that he did.

Had he really thought she was doing this so he wouldn’t become the next High Priest? What did she care? It was an overrated position anyway, one for cocky men who knew nothing better than to sit in an office all day and recite boring texts in Black Mass.

She didn’t dare to move, still only staring at him in silence. It was the calm after the big storm. More like a tornado.

Edward cleared his throat, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. “Hilda wants you to come home”, he added. “Her Latin exam is tomorrow.”

Zelda crossed her arms, shrugging. “Why would I want to help her?” The tremble in her voice gave her away. “Do it yourself. You’re so great at everything!”

Her brother sighed. “Will you stop, please?” He looked over to Faustus, still with an expression like he wanted to strangle him at the spot. “You’re almost as insufferable as your new boyfriend.”

Zelda could not help the little smile on her lips, biting her lip to hide it. “Bad temper runs in the family I suppose.”

Edward frowned. “I’m not sure, your sister doesn’t seem to have gotten any of it.”

“Maybe she’s adopted after all”, Zelda muttered under her breath, partly hoping he wouldn’t hear.

Although he did, of course. But he ignored it, apart from rolling his eyes. “Will you come home, then?”

She glanced over to Faustus, who was still looking rather tensed. But the worst part was over, or so she hoped. Edward would continue to tease her here and there, make some comments from time to time, but the biggest issue was solved. He would get over it eventually. His big ego had just gotten in the way, as usual. Sometimes she wondered if he was a little too sure about himself becoming High Priest. His magic was not quite as extraordinary as it should be, and he was only a good student because he studied so much. But he was utterly confident that there was no one better for the position.

Zelda wrapped her arms around Faustus’ neck, although she could almost feel her brother’s disapproving glance burn holes into her back. “It’s fine”, she whispered, shortly pressing her lips against his. She was of course trying to push Edward’s buttons a little, but it wasn’t without self interest. His tongue slipped into her mouth, tracing her bottom lip for a few seconds.

They broke apart, and he placed another kiss on her temple, before letting go of her.

The look on her brother’s face was actually quite amusing, the way his jaw was clenched and lips pressed together.

“Something wrong?” she asked innocently, not able to hide the grin. It was just too funny.

Edward gave Faustus another tense look, before turning towards the door. “Don’t push it”, he muttered, sounding everything but pleased with how the events had turned out.

But Zelda was happy, or at least content that she had managed to get out of this mess without ending up buried in the yard. Now the situation could only improve.

Hilda was awaiting them already, seeming obviously pleased about her elder sister’s return. “Zelds I’m going to fail Latin tomorrow!” she complained, following her sister upstairs.

Actually Zelda wanted nothing else but to lock herself in her room and read, but Hilda wouldn’t let her slip away that easily.

“You have to help me, please!” she practically begged, blocking her sister’s way into her room.

Zelda rolled her eyes, pushing the other aside and stepping into her room. “It’s not my fault you’re too stupid to understand it, Hilda”, she snapped, sinking down on her bed and reaching for a cigarette. She had just lifted it to her mouth when suddenly, it was lit aflame. For a second she thought she had imagined it, but her sister’s look told her all she needed to know.

Hilda frowned in confusion. “Since when can you do that?” she wanted to know.

That was quite the question. It had not even been intentional. Zelda shrugged, inhaling the smoke. “I don’t know”, she replied truthfully. “Close the door.”   
  
Her sister still looked largely confused, but she did as she was told.

“Come here”, Zelda dictated, handing her a few candles. “Place those on the ground.”

Hilda obeyed, and shrieked slightly when suddenly all of them were lit. “Zelds this is scary”, she whined, moving a few paces away from the burning candles. “Shouldn’t we tell Edward?”

Zelda rolled her eyes, putting her cigarette out on her night stand. A flick of her wrist, and the ring of ash was gone. Being a witch was indeed quite amazing. “Don’t be a baby, Hilda”, she told her sister, sitting down in between the candles and then resting her head on the wooden floor. “Just wait here and be quiet.”

The teenager seemed to be everything but happy with how things played out, but she nodded. Getting a good grade in Latin seemed to be more important.

Zelda closed her eyes, and when she opened them again she was standing within the walls of the Academy. The hallways were empty, and so she made her way to the High Priest’s office. They were holding Black Mass right now, which meant that his office should be empty.   
  
She slid through the door like it wasn’t even there, being awaited by the first Psychopomp already as soon as she entered the room.

The desk was crowded with papers and books, therefore she did not manage to find the Latin exam papers until the second Psychopomp was sitting on the window sill. Its eyes were following her every move, and she felt heavily watched. Besides what she was doing here was vastly illegal. She gave her best to memorize everything the paper said, without taking more time than needed.

She returned to her room before there were even four little birds, opening her eyes to Hilda who was sitting on her bed as pale as paper.   
  
Slowly Zelda sat up, quite pleased with herself. Around her, the candlelight died out.

“What happened?” Hilda asked into the silence, while she watched her sister reaching for a pen and writing things down. She sounded largely confused. “Did you just Astral project? Isn’t that really dangerous?”

Zelda handed her the paper, where she had written all the exam questions down as close as she could remember. “Look up the answers to those and memorize them.”

Her sister’s eyes widened. “That’s cheating, Zelds!”

Of course it was, but where was the fun in being a witch if one could not use it for one’s own benefit? “Make sure not to get everything right”, Zelda added. “Otherwise Edward will know. And I’m not taking the blame for this!” She would rather have her sister expelled than herself.

Hilda nodded quickly, standing up from the bed. “Thank you!”

She shrugged it off with a gesture, already lighting another cigarette. “Get out”, she told Hilda. There was really enough she had done for her today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is barely proof read sorry! how do you think things are gonna continue? <3


	12. Blood in the Cut

It was thanksgiving weekend, for mortals at least, and about half a year later.

Zelda and Faustus were still happily engaging in their relationship, although her brother’s side glances and comments did make things a little harder sometimes. Just recently he had walked into the kitchen only to find the two of them making out while Zelda was sitting on the counter in a rather suggestive position. Afterwards he had not spoken with her for two entire days, no matter how much she had teased him about it.

But they had still agreed to have Thanksgiving dinner all together, even though Zelda was already now dreading it. It would most probably end in a disaster.

Right now she was curled up on the couch and watching football, mortals tackling each other over a little ball was just too funny. Especially when they got really violent and people had to leave the field in order to be treated by a doctor, she liked those games best.

Suddenly a scream erupted the silence, and Zelda could not help but roll her eyes. What was Hilda’s problem now? She got up from the sofa and made her way into the hall, where her sister was standing appearing to be frozen with shock and stared at the door.

The wood was covered in blood, something hanging down from it which looked a lot like intestines. It was sort of gross, but also partly fascinating. She was not able to lift her eyes.

Edward’s voice interrupted the scene. “Close the door, Hilda”, he ordered, a deep frown on his face. “And into the kitchen. Both of you.” He was eyeing Zelda specifically.

Of course she knew what this meant, she wasn’t as stupid and uncultured as her sister. Hilda was almost shaking, barely able to sit still on the table. Her hands were trembling.

“Our family has been chosen to participate in this year’s Feast of Feasts”, Edward explained the obvious, with an expression on his face that was everything but happy.

Zelda smiled a little. “Praise Freya.”

Hilda glanced from one sibling to the other, seeming even more confused. “Who’s Freya?”

 _What a question._ Zelda huffed. “A queen amongst witches. When the coven was starving, she sacrificed herself so the other’s could survive.” The story was the most popular one in the coven, everyone had heard it. Apart from Hilda, as it seemed. “Which is why on the Feast of Feasts fourteen families participate in a lottery. One is selected to be queen.” Queen was the biggest honour a witch could have in the coven, since females couldn’t be High Priest. Zelda often wondered why that was. It seemed like a stupid tradition.

Hilda’s eyes had widened with fear. “What happens to the queen?” she asked, voice shaky. Sometimes it appeared like she was still ten after all. Not sixteen.

“She’s eaten, stupid”, Zelda replied, rolling her eyes. For that she earned a death stare from her brother.

Edward was patting Hilda’s shoulder. “It’s a barberic tradition, really, but it is still tradition.”

Zelda frowned in response. “The queen gets to spend her life in eternal glory among the Dark Lord’s side.” To her that sounded quite good. Being eaten by the entire coven was a downside, but who didn’t enjoy some witch or mortal flesh from time to time?

Her brother huffed lightly, leaning back in his chair. “You don’t really believe that, Zee, do you?” He had always been an objector of certain aspects of witch tradition, especially those which would have been deemed problematic by outsiders. Or the view that witches and warlocks were superior to mortals. That especially was a point he liked to disagree on.

“I don’t want to be eaten”, Hilda interfered quietly, eyes gleaming with tears.

It was actually really starting to get annoying. “You won’t”, Zelda replied, sighing. “Only one family member needs to participate. I’ll do it.” If her sister didn’t want to be queen it was her own fault, really. Zelda was fine with doing it, although she didn’t exactly wish to be picked, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Living in eternal glory did sound like something enjoyable.

Edward looked at her with concern, clenching his jaw. “Are you sure?” he wanted to know. “I could try to find a way around it.”

There really was no way around it, apart from letting Hilda participate instead of her. But she was barely able to hold the tears back, and the Spellman’s definitely would not be represented by someone like this. She would rather get eaten than let this happen.

Swiftly she stood up from her chair, already lighting herself a cigarette. By now she had gotten used to not having to carry a lighter around, but instead simply doing it with her mind. It was so much easier. “Perhaps I’ll get lucky enough to be queen”, she added, using a smile to cover up the fact that she maybe didn’t mean it if she was totally honest with herself.

Her brother muttered something to himself which sounded a lot like “Fanatic” in her ears, but she largely ignored him and made her way back into the living room to continue her football game. It was a welcome distraction from her mind.

They were all called to the Academy later that day, but Hilda had been sobbing all afternoon ever since she knew that her sister was putting herself forth as a tribute and was therefore staying home. Edward had refused to come at first, but then agreed to attend the drawing ceremony simply because he said it would be expected of him. That was a lie, of course, but Zelda had only shrugged it off and continued to ignore him. It was hard enough to turn the TV loud enough to not hear Hilda’s sobbing.

Zelda teleported to the Academy a little earlier, hoping to meet Faustus before she needed to draw her paper. By now she really wasn’t looking forward to it, but she wouldn’t let it show. That was much easier.

Gladly she found him in the hall, as usual reading. She wrapped her arms around his body from behind, glancing over his shoulder. “What are you doing?” she wanted to know.

He chuckled, closing the book and turning around to meet her lips with hers. His tongue flicked into her mouth, playing with hers and she felt her body trembling under his touch. It was the best feeling she could imagine.

They broke apart, his eyes still resting on her. “Why are you here?” he wanted to know, placing a light kiss on her temple. “You’re not a tribute, are you?” He was gripping her hips gently, pulling her closer.

Zelda sighed. “Someone has to be.”  
  
Suddenly he was looking at her with worry, although she would have expected it differently from him. He was a devout Satanic follower, and surely knew about the honour of being Queen of the Feast. “Your sister can do it”, he suggested, running a hand through her hair. His fingers rested on her cheek, tracing the lines of her jaw.

“Being queen is a great honour”, she said quietly, although she didn’t really mean it.

Faustus rolled his eyes. “I would still prefer you to stay with me”, he whispered, pressing another kiss to her lips.

This time with such force that it almost made her stumble, and forced her to steady herself by gripping his shirt. They were still standing in the middle of the Academy’s hall, and perhaps this was not the best place to almost tear each other’s clothes off.

She pulled back, restoring an inch of space between their faces. “Everyone can see”, she breathed against his lips, smiling lightly. “Keep the rest for later.”

He laughed, letting go of her. “Later when? Thanksgiving dinner with your brother?”  
  
Zelda made a face, sighing lightly. “That was your idea, not mine.” She could just pray to Satan that she would make it out of that alive. And out of the drawing, obviously. “I need to go”, she added, smoothing out the collar of his shirt while speaking.

“You don’t think I will let you go alone?” he replied, almost offended. Then he reached for her hand, intertwining her fingers with his.

The drawing was supposed to be held in the chapel, the usual location for Black Mass or also choir practice. When Zelda climbed onto the pedestal, she felt her heart flutter. Suddenly she wanted everything but to be queen. Faustus was sitting in the front row, face deep with worry, and she tried her best not to look at him. She had no idea where her brother was, but she hoped he wouldn’t come.

The High Priest’s wife stopped in front of her, holding the letter box. When Zelda drew, she felt herself trembling. She was quick to hide it. No one should see her fear. Least of all the Dark Lord for that matter. If he wanted her to be his Queen, so be it.

But when Zelda lit the paper aflame her smoke stayed colourless, and the two girls next to her drew the lots of Queen and Handmaiden. Her eyes met those of Faustus, and she saw how relieved he was. And so was she, actually. _Praise Satan._

One challenge was done, but there was still a dinner to survive…

It was half past eight when the doorbell of the Spellman house rang, and Zelda hurried downstairs to open. She was wearing a black lace dress, which had a low cut back and was partially see-through, paired with her statement red lipstick and curled hair. The dress was probably a little shorter than it had to be, but she wanted to push her brother’s buttons and see how he would react.

She opened the door to Faustus, whose eyes immediately skimmed over the dress. “Do you want me to tear it off you right now?” he whispered into her ear, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Zelda huffed, wrapping her arms around his neck and looking up at him. “Later. I’ve spent too much time on my make up for you to ruin it right now”, she teased him, not able to resist the grin.

“Wicked”, he breathed against her lips, before joining them and letting his teeth suck at her bottom lip. His fingers traced over the bare skin of her spine, leaving her shivering. And wanting more, obviously.

But as usual, Edward had to spoil all the fun. “I’d really appreciate it if you could stop making out with my sister in my presence”, he interrupted, sounding a lot more cranky than needed to be.

Zelda rolled her eyes. “But when you bring your mortals in here that’s fine right?” she muttered, recalling a particular incident where she had found her brother wrapped around a woman with the name Diana in the yard. She was pretty indeed, but terribly mortal and all sweet and lovely and perfectly neat. Zelda was not sure if her brother was still seeing her, but she surely hoped not.

“That’s different”, her brother hissed back, walking into the kitchen rather annoyed.

She couldn’t see why.

Faustus took the hint to try and start a conversation, but it didn’t go so well. “You’re dating mortals, Edward?” He was smirking. “No one at the Academy who suits your liking?”

Her brother shot her a deadly stare, and she wished instantly not having brought the topic up.

Gladly, Hilda interrupted. “Shall we eat?” she asked innocently, putting the food down on the table. The entire kitchen was filling up with the scent of freshly cooked turkey. This alone was terribly mortal, but Zelda didn’t dare to bring it up.

“I don’t date mortals”, Edward defended himself, clenching his jaw tightly. “Besides, there not different from us in any way.”

That was his favourite topic to debate, and Zelda had spend hours listening to his opinion on the topic. She didn’t need another hour of listening to it. “The last one was cute”, she commented, grinning a little. “Like a little kitten.”

Next to her Faustus was chuckling, but Edward didn’t seem so pleased. He took a sip of wine, face rather tense. “Her name is Diana”, he noted.

Oh she knew that. “You should have invited her”, Zelda continued, leaning forward slightly. “I bet she would have loved a house full of witches!”

Her brother rolled his eyes at her, putting the wine glass down. “I’m glad you’re bringing it up, actually.” There was a short pause. He smiled mildly. “She’s coming over tomorrow evening.”

Zelda huffed slightly. “It’s getting serious, isn’t it?” It was too much fun to watch her brother squirm.

Her sister interfered. “I really liked her”, she said softly, smiling uneasily.

“It’s none of your business, Zee”, Edward responded, again sipping on his wine glass. He was probably thinking he might need the alcohol to survive this evening. It wasn’t even that bad of an idea.

Zelda raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Like my relationship isn’t any of _your_ business either?” Since when were things in this house private?

Edward huffed. “It is my business if I have to listen to you almost every night… doing whatever you’re doing!” He glanced over to Faustus, who had a hard time attempting not to laugh.

She felt her cheeks turn slightly red, clearing her throat while quickly taking a large sip of wine. That had not been intended, actually. She didn’t think her brother would be able to hear.

“One might think you’re capable of a silencing spell by now”, her brother added, still looking like he had just bitten into a particularly sour apple.

Only Hilda was confused, glancing from her brother to her sister. She obviously didn’t get what everyone was implying. Zelda really needed to do some sex education with her as it seemed.

Faustus was swift enough to change the topic to something less explosive then, and they all managed to get through the three course meal without someone trying to murder the other.

Or at least that was until dessert, when the two men began a heated discussion about whether resurrecting small animals like mice fell under the law of necromancy which forbid such a thing. Faustus argued no, since necromancy technically only included ceremonies in which you had to give blood atonement to bring a soul back, which was not needed when it was just a mouse. Edward disagreed, naturally, by saying that bringing back animals of all sizes was forbidden and playing with life and death.

“That’s just because you’re afraid to do it”, Faustus teased her brother, smirking wickedly. “Because maybe it won’t work!”

Edward furrowed his brows. “I’m not afraid to do it”, he disagreed.

Zelda sighed internally. This was such a dreadful conversation. Although everything was better than a chat about her sex life, she had to admit so much. At least they were over that particular topic.

Faustus shrugged at Edward’s words. “Then let’s find out, shall we?” He was obviously expecting the other man to deny, as everyone else on the table also thought, but to her utter surprise her brother nodded.

“Let’s do it”, he replied.

Zelda raised a brow in confusion. But she knew why he got so worked up about this. In order to succeed to the position of High Priest, one needed to have seven gifts. One of them was necromancy, or more specifically bringing souls back to life. Which included the spell Faustus had suggested. If Edward could not do it, he was not the next High Priest.

They decided to do it outside in the yard, although it was terribly cold and dark. Zelda lit some candles, and Edward summoned a mouse whose neck he broke in order to bring her back later.

Faustus was to begin, and it took him barely the moment it lasted to speak the spell until the small animal was awake again, creeping over the muddy ground. But that had not been a surprise. Necromancy was his speciality, after all.

Then her brother kneeled onto the ground, the mouse lying motionless in front of him again. The poor creature, having to die twice in a row. But Edward succeeded as well, speaking the spell and bringing her back to life. It looked so easy when he did it.

Zelda shifted nervously, biting her lip and shivering in the cold air. She was wearing Faustus’ jacket, but the cold was still creeping through her bones. “Can I try?” she asked into the silence, watching the mouse sniffing in the mud.

Her brother frowned, but didn’t object. “Go ahead”, he shrugged, obviously not expecting that it would work.

Zelda kneeled down, watching the small animal’s body lie in front of her, entirely motionless.

“You need to visualize it”, Faustus told her, standing behind her. “Visualize how you’re repairing the broken bones. While speaking the spell.”

She nodded, fixing her eyes on the mouse. Inside her head, she imagined reaching inside its little body and make her bones repair themselves, growing back together like nothing had happened. Then she imagined her chest beginning to rise again, heart beating steadily.

Barely a second later, the mouse rolled onto its feet.

Zelda let out a sharp breath, not having expected that at all. Slowly she stood up, glancing over to Faustus. He was exchanging a brief look with her brother, one which had her frown just a little. It made her feel like something was off.

But then the smile was back on his face, and he kissed her forehead. “Natural talent”, he commented. “Must be a family trait.”

Edward rolled his eyes, making his way back inside the house.

“Happy Thanksgiving”, Faustus breathed into her hair, placing another kiss there.

Suddenly she didn’t even care anymore that it was a mortal tradition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you like this one, it's a bit longer actually haha <3


	13. Whispers

Faustus walked through the hallways of the Academy, scanning the crowd of students for someone in particular. It was the Monday after Thanksgiving, and he had not before had the chance to have this conversation, although the issue had been weighting heavily on him. Ever since the dinner he had tried talking to Edward alone, but it had never been possible without Zelda noticing.

But right now he knew in fact that she had French class, and therefore he was hoping to catch her brother alone.

Indeed he found Edward Spellman in the library for advanced students, having a pile of books around him and being heavily busy with scratching notes on a paper.

He sat down across from him, waiting for a chance to speak. “Edward”, he broke the silence.

The other looked up, furrowing his brows. “Faustus”, he noted, before looking back on his paper. “I’m a little busy right now.” That was just his usual cocky attitude, nothing new really.

Faustus sighed. “It’s about Zelda”, he added, attempting to make his voice sound rather urgent. It was important, after all. He had not just come here for fun.

The words made Edward lift his glance again, putting the pen down. “You have my attention”, he responded, leaning back in his chair. “What about my sister?”

Faustus looked around himself, if any of the other students seemed to pay attention to their talk. But the room was mostly empty, and the only two girls sitting on a different table were listening to music with their headphones. Still, he leaned forward. “I’m worried”, he began. Actually it was hard to start this conversation, because he didn’t know where to begin. And how to explain it without Edward understanding it all wrong.

The other warlock frowned, suddenly somewhat concerned. “Why?” he wanted to know, keeping his voice down. He seemed to have understood that this was a rather private matter.

Faustus cleared his throat. “You saw her perform that resurrection, just as I did.” The scene still wouldn’t leave his head. “She shouldn’t be able to do that!” She was a first year, and although she had spent some time being educated in Europe her skills should not be as good as they were. Especially not without training.

Edward frowned. “I thought you might have taught her.” He shrugged. “To mess with me or something.”

Although that would have been rather amusing to watch, it was not what had happened. “No”, he replied. “I don’t think she’s ever done it before.” His voice was more urging now. “It’s her _gift_ , Edward.” He surely knew what that meant. He had to.

But the other Spellman just shook his head. “Impossible.” His tone was utterly convinced.   
Faustus had thought so too, but apparently it was not. “It’s her forth gift then”, he went on, ignoring what Edward had just said. “She isn’t supposed to have more than three at this point.” Three gifts at such a young age would already be remarkable, and much more than the average witch possessed, but four… still it was undeniable. Teleporting, Telekinesis, Pyrokinesis, and now Resurrection. She could do it all, and without any effort as it seemed. Sometimes he was wondering if Zelda even knew how remarkable and special that was, since he had the feeling that she didn’t.

Edward was still staring at him, clenching his jaw. “Women can not inherit the role of High Priest”, he eventually said.

Because he too knew what this would mean. It meant that one was on the best way to become High Priest.

“How do we know?” Faustus replied, shrugging. “Just because this coven never had a High Priestess doesn’t mean it can’t ever have one.” Of course it was not the most likely situation, but why not? Although he still hoped to be wrong. After all he wanted to be High Priest, and not Zelda.

Edward frowned, still concerned. “I don’t like this”, he replied. “The council won’t like it, either. Witches which are deemed too powerful are considered dangerous. It’s always been like that!” The Church of the Night had a rather messy history with those issues.

That was a valid point, and the reason Faustus had come to speak with Edward in the first place. Because no matter how much they sometimes loathed each other, they both only wanted the best for Zelda. “I won’t let anything happen to her”, Faustus said into the silence which had formed. It sounded like a promise.

Edward was still clenching his jaw, playing with the pen in his hand. “She can’t find out about this”, he eventually answered. “If she knows, she won’t stop.”

Zelda never stopped, especially not when it came to spells and enchantments. And she was already now so powerful that it was impossible to ignore. She might even have noticed how unusual that was herself by now. “She’s not stupid, Edward”, Faustus disagreed. “What do you want to do, hide her away?”

The other warlock shrugged. “If necessary.” He leaned forward. “You know how she is. As soon as she knows she will want to be High Priestess!”

Faustus was not quite sure if this was Edward being concerned about his little sister, or if he was simply not having the possibility of another Spellman being High Priest. As for himself, he had never really believed Edward fit for the position anyway. He was the natural choice, sure, but his magic was barely above average. He only possessed three gifts anyway, which wasn’t really anything special for the son of a former High Priest.

“I won’t lie to her”, he replied eventually, eyeing Edward carefully. “I just want her to be safe.”

The other man huffed. “And you think she will be safe if she sets her mind on being High Priestess? The council won’t have it, believe me!” He raised a brow. “Besides, what about yourself? I thought you are convinced that you’re the next High Priest. You wouldn’t want Zelda to get in the way, would you?”   
  
Actually no, but he also didn’t want to lie to her. He loved her, after all, there was no denying. And he had noticed how powerful she was ever since meeting her for the first time, and those past months her powers had only flourished.

But if the Council found out, they would get rid of her he feared. Woman were not meant to be leaders in the Church of the Night.

“We will know who the new High Priest is soon enough”, Faustus replied mildly. “As soon as we perform the test we will know who indeed has all seven gifts.” Those tests were dangerous, and very often lethal to contestants, but Edward and himself had set their mind on the fulfilling of those tasks years ago, ever since starting at the Academy. It was their only goal, their only mindset. Dying was a little thing compared to the glory of being High Priest.

The current High Priest was growing old, and they expected the test to be held in about ten years from now. Which was the reason they were both studying so hard.

“I guess we will see then”, Edward replied, picking up his pen again. “Until then, keep an eye on Zelda.” His eyes were back on his books. “As will I.”

Faustus nodded, slowly getting up from his chair. Keeping an eye on her was easier said than done honestly, that woman was as wild as an animal sometimes. Whenever she had her mind set on something, she did everything to achieve it. And drag him into it too, most of the times, like with the stolen library books. She was quite the persuasive person, and she clearly had the same charisma as her brother.

This would prove harder then it appeared at first glance… but then again, he didn’t want another person to steal the High Priest position from him. Because that was his seat, and he would get it. One way or another.

Zelda walked outside into the yard after her class, carrying about five books around in her bag and three more in her arms, which she was all planning to read this evening. She had found quite a few spells she wanted to try out, especially some summoning and binding rituals.

She noticed Faustus sitting not far away from her, on a bench underneath one of the trees. Quickly she made her way over to him, putting her bag down next to him and climbing into his lap. She didn’t even care who might see anymore. They were past that stage.

“Done with French class?” he wanted to know, pressing a light kiss to her temple and pulling her closer at the waist.

She nodded, resting her hands on his neck. “What did you do?” He had quite the few books with him, and also lots of notes scrambled on random pieces of paper. She picked one of them up, frowning a little. “What is this about?”

He sighed, taking the note out of her hand. “It’s nothing.”

Somehow she didn’t believe him. There was something on his face which told her otherwise. “Come on”, she tried again, smiling innocently. “You can tell me!” Why did they suddenly keep secrets?

Faustus ran a hand over her back, pulling her slightly closer. Some students walked past them, the two boys eyeing them suspiciously. Suddenly he kissed her, lips claiming hers as hungrily as they usually only did when she was lying undressed beneath him. She was surprised for a brief second, her brain not quite catching up just yet. Her fingers curled up in the collar of his shirt, nails scrapping his skin.

But when he let go of her she knew what he was trying to do. Using her own weapons against her as it seemed. “Stop distracting me!” she half laughed, as he began to place little kisses on her neck when she pulled back. This was usually her strategy.

“I’m not distracting you”, he argued, smirking a little.

Again Zelda reached for one of the little notes, trying to read what they were saying. He really had horrible handwriting. She could only read some words, and they didn’t really make sense.

He took the paper from her, hiding it in one of the books and closing that one afterwards. “It’s just about being High Priest”, he explained, rather vague though.

She frowned, playing with his hair at the back of his neck. “Meaning?” she followed up. She had always wondered how one actually got that position, since her brother had never really told her. All she knew was that there was a test, or something of the sort.

Faustus sighed. “I’m just doing some research, that’s all.” His eyes sparkled in the dim sunlight. “I want to beat your brother eventually, don’t I.”

Zelda didn’t quite understand why he was being so secretive about it, but that was fine for now. She smiled a little. “Edward is going to be so mad.” That was actually an amusing thought. “What is the test like?” she wanted to know. Maybe Faustus would tell her more than Edward, who always changed the topic when she had asked.

But somehow this appeared to be a secretive issue, since her boyfriend wasn’t eager to talk about it either as it seemed. “It’s a complicated matter”, he simply said.

She rolled her eyes. “I think I’m clever enough to understand.” Or she might just find it out herself. This attitude was making her all the more curious.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before answering. “There are seven gifts you need in order to become the next High Priest”, he began.

So much she knew, of course. Her father had possessed all of those back then.

“In the test, there are seven challenges you need to pass in order to prove that you have all those gifts.” He frowned. “Only the High Priest can pass all seven.”

Zelda bit her lip. “What happens if you fail?” Somehow she felt like she knew the answer already. The reason Edward liked to change the topic whenever she mentioned it.

Faustus sighed. “You die, in the worst case.”

Suddenly she realized what that meant. It meant she would most probably lose either her boyfriend or brother. Because they were rivals, in the most dangerous game one could be playing. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. Unintentionally her grip around his neck tightened a little.

He seemed to notice her sudden tension, since he placed another kiss on her neck. “It’s fine”, he ensured her. “It’s years until the test is bound to happen. If Edward doesn’t find his forth gift until then, he won’t even make it to the test.”   
  
Those words made her listen up. “ _Forth gift?”_ she repeated the words. It made her feel some sort of way, a certain type of alarmed. She didn’t know why. Now she really needed to look this up later. Edward most probably had a book on that topic.

Faustus nodded slowly. “He only possesses three as of now.”

Zelda found the topic rather heavy, and she was thinking whether to change it or not. Because actually she had come because of something else. Was it the best thing to bring up right now? Probably not. She went for it anyway. “I encountered a spell today”, she began, shifting a little closer to him. “And I was wondering if you might want to help me with it.” She tried to sound extra sweet and persuasive, but she wasn’t sure if it worked with him anymore.

As expected he sighed, smirking a little. “What is it this time?”

Zelda bit her lip. “Summoning a demon.” It was a risky thing, but she really wanted to try it out herself. “Bind it to a protective circle and then banish it again.” It was quite the ritual, but it sounded exciting.

Faustus raised a brow at her, looking like she had lost her mind. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? If he breaks free, he might as well kill you at the spot!” His grip around her waist grew a little tighter.

She rolled her eyes. Always the drama queen. “I’m doing it anyway, with or without your help!” The plan already stood, all she needed was some extra help to make sure she did not indeed kill herself in the process. That would be quite unfortunate.

He looked rather desperate, running his fingers through her hair. “You’re driving me insane”, he said quietly, sighing deeply. “Summoning demons is nothing you do for fun, you know.”

Zelda shrugged. “So tonight?”

Faustus looked everything but happy, but he leaned forward and kissed her, letting his tongue slip into her mouth. That served as a yes, obviously. She replied by nibbling at his bottom lip, teeth playfully tearing at the skin.

“Tonight”, he whispered as they broke apart, still close enough to hear each other’s heartbeat. “There’s no talking you out of it anyway.”

Zelda smiled. This man really understood her, inside out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is not proofread so i'm sorry if there are any mistakes <3


	14. Devil Woman

Zelda slipped out of the house at quarter to midnight – the witching hour seemed rather fitting in her opinion – careful to be absolutely silent. Thanks to her paranoid brother’s ban she couldn’t teleport, but Edward had his mortal friend over so they were probably busy anyway.

The woman had been spending more and more time at their house, cooking with Hilda or baking cookies and cupcakes which she would offer to Zelda - with the sort of sweet smile you could only _hate -_ or chatting for hours about the news channel she was working at. It was dreadful, and every conversation made Zelda loath mortals even more. They really were awfully stupid.

But Edward was head over heels with her, buying her flowers and expensive jewellery and other stuff she didn’t need. Although that was not even the worst part. The worst part was the way he looked at her, the sparkle in his eyes whenever he saw her. It was the same way Faustus looked at Zelda, and it made her sick in her stomach to see her brother in love with a mortal.

She had made a habit of excusing herself whenever Diana was over for dinner, either fleeing to Faustus’ house and hoping that he might turn her mind to something else or mumbling something about a stomach ache or studying and staying upstairs. By now the woman must hate her, as obvious as Zelda showed her dislike, but if she did she never showed. Her smile stayed always friendly, and she even offered to cook her tea and bring it upstairs.

Even seeing her car parked outside in the Spellman’s yard made Zelda angry, and she almost let the door fall shut loudly behind her. Only in the last second she stopped herself.

Faustus was waiting under the trees of the Greendale woods, leaned against one of them. “What’s wrong?” he greeted her, instantly noticing the look on her face.

“Edward’s girlfriend is staying overnight”, she muttered, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest for a moment.

He chuckled, placing a kiss on top of her head. “So?” His fingers were playing with a strand of her hair.

She looked up to him, frowning. “ _So_ I will have to take breakfast with her tomorrow morning!” The thought of it was enough to ruin her entire mood, although she was still excited to finally summon a demon. That was quite the thrilling thing to do. She broke away from him, beginning to make her way into the woods. “Maybe I’ll make that demon visit her tonight.”

Faustus laughed behind her, reaching for her hand. “Don’t you think you should try to get used to her?”   
  
Zelda froze, turning around to face him. “Why?” she asked suspiciously, eyeing him. “Did Edward mention something?” She had always hoped the mortal would one day go away by herself, but she was slowly loosing hope. Her brother was hopefully not planning to make her a permanent addition to the family.

He sighed, running his free hand through his hair. Today it was particularly messy. “All he said was that it’s somewhat serious."

 _In Satan’s name, what was he thinking?_ He was trying to run for High Priest, yet breaking sacred witch law. Meaningful connections with mortals of all sorts were discouraged, frowned upon. Marriage was forbidden, breeding especially. Half-witches were not to be tolerated in the Church of the Night. “And he says I’m ruining the family reputation”, Zelda muttered, shaking her head.

They had finally reached a clearing in the woods which seemed large enough to cast the spell, both of them stopping their pace. Zelda drew the protective circle onto the muddy ground with salt, making sure it was even and complete on all sides. An escaping demon was not something she wanted to deal with tonight.

After that, things were supposed to get tricky.

“Once the demon is summoned, immediately banish it again”, Faustus reminder her, frowning ever so slightly. He was not agreeing with this at all. “Don’t let it speak to you.”

Zelda sighed. “I know”, she repeated. Demons were masters of manipulation, and had their own ways of messing with ones head. She had done enough research on the topic to know so much herself.

Then she began to say the incantation, the words echoing through the empty woods. Suddenly a cold wind was rising, and she was shivering. The moon disappeared behind the clouds, the clearing growing darker with each passing second.

A pile of smoke rose from the middle of the circle, rising up into the air. A cracked scream followed. Then two black eyes were staring at Zelda, the demon slowly taking its form within the circle of salt.

She took a deep breath, not able to look away. It was like the creature was drawing her in, begging for her to come closer without ever making a sound. Very slowly she stepped forward, just wanting to have a better view.

“Zelda”, Faustus urged behind her, but she didn’t listen.

The demon turned around itself, body only half taking shape. It was like flowing in the air, not quite there just yet. “Spellman”, it hissed, although there was no indication that it even had a mouth to speak. It was just all black, without beginning or end.

In all honesty, Zelda had no idea what kind of demon she had summoned, just taken a random spell out of her book. Now she was regretting that decision. “Who are you?” she wanted to know, although being aware that this was not a wise thing to do. By now the demon should be banished again already, on its way back to hell. But it was too tempting and she couldn’t resist.

“I am a truth demon”, the creature hissed, its burning back eyes resting steadily on Zelda. “I see into the hearts of witches and warlocks and tell their darkest secrets.”

That sounded like something not dangerous after all. She was only standing a few paces away from the circle, eyeing the demon up close. It was magnificent, in a way.

The demon slipped closer to the edge of the wall with shielded it from the outside world, like it would attempt to break through. “Step into the circle, young witch, and I will tell you all the answers you so desperately seek!”

She frowned, not quite knowing what that was supposed to mean. She didn’t seek any answers, as far as she was concerned. Or did she? “Like what?” she attempted to follow up, still remaining at distance.

“Zelda”, Faustus urged again, now stepping closer as well. He was sounding rather worried.

For the first time the creature looked at him, and if it were able to smile it surely would have in this moment. “He is getting nervous”, its voice purred. “Fears I might expose his secrets.”

She turned around to Faustus for a second, checking his expression. It was blank, like he was trying very hard not to let something show. She turned back around to the demon, feeling like perhaps it had not been lying.

Looking back to this moment she often wondered if she had just been ridiculously brave or stupid, and then decided that it must have been a bit of both.

Because merely a second later she stepped into the circle, feeling herself practically soaked into its midst. It was like travelling the Astral Plane, but with an even less solid body.   
  
She was floating through the inside of the protective circle, although she was certain that to the outside she must have disappeared entirely. The demon was next to her, and behind her, and above her. Its claws were reaching out, burning marks into her skin. Something was around her neck, making it next to impossible to breath properly. She tried to cough, but it was useless.

“Brave little witch”, the demon hissed, very close to her eye but she could not tell were it was exactly. “The Dark Lord has been calling you into his ranks.” Now the voice seemed further away, even distant. But she had not been moving. It was an endless stream of nothingness.

Perhaps it was her limited brain capacity due to the situation, but she had no idea what the creature was trying to tell her. Although she had to admit it did not sound too good.

“He wants you to be his next successor on earth.” The voice was not more than a whisper. “Take the test. Become the next High Priestess.”

Now Zelda was properly confused. “My brother”, she was able to get out, although breathing was still hard.

The demon seemed to be reading her mind, since it knew exactly what she had meant. “He will fail”, it answered, now seeming to be rather close again. The voice was rasping close to her ear. “You must take the test.”

Zelda’s brain was still working on comprehending that information, when suddenly she felt a force pushing her body backwards and within a second she was almost thrown out of the circle. She was stumbling in confusion, probably having fallen if Faustus would not have caught her.

The same pile of smoke appeared, and the demon was gone.

She exhaled sharply, mind still piecing the information together. _What in Satan’s name had that been?_ It was only then that she noticed Faustus was talking to her.

“Are you okay?” he wanted to know, eyes deeply concerned. He was probably thinking she had lost her mind.

Zelda quickly nodded, pulling back from his touch. Suddenly it was too much. It was like she could still feel the demon’s claws on her skin.

He eyed her, visibly concerned. “What happened?” he asked carefully.

How could she explain it to him? “It just told me some random things which didn’t really make sense”, she therefore lied, although feeling bad about it. But she had the feeling there was something he was not telling her either, so perhaps they were even now.   
  
It was still very cold, and Zelda was beginning to notice that she was freezing. It was way past midnight by now. “We should go home”, she said quietly, biting her lip nervously. _Why should she be more fit to take the test than Edward?_ She didn’t really know what it was all about, but she was sure it was nothing she could ever succeed with. Or maybe she could and just didn’t know…?

They said goodbye at the end of the woods, Faustus pulling her in to kiss her for a few seconds. “See you tomorrow”, he smiled while kissing her cheek and then letting go. His eyes followed her until she had disappeared inside the house, and she was somehow glad when she did so.

Immediately she slipped downstairs into Edward’s library, hoping that her brother was asleep upstairs and would not catch her at 1am going through his books. That would be tricky to explain.

She skimmed through the shelves which were filled with hundreds of books, searching for one in particular. Eventually she used a spell to locate it, letting it glide out of the shelf and sinking down onto one of her brother’s chairs while opening it. She flipped through the pages, looking for anything which might help.

Finally, she found it.

 _The seven gifts of a High Priest._ That was something to start with. The first one listed was Telekinesis. That was an easy one. Followed by Teleportation and Pyrokinesis, both fairly easy too.

Although Edward to this day had not managed to develop the gift of Pyrokinesis, which was beginning to drive him more insane with each day. Just recently she had caught him trying to set a candle aflame with his mind for three hours straight, only for it not to work in the end.

The fourth one was described as the power of bringing spirits back to this realm, also called resurrection. Also not a problem, for obvious reasons.   
  
Task five was mind control, making someone else do what you do them by invading their thoughts, changing their minds and bending their will. Pretty cool, actually.

However the last two gifts were harder to maintain, and few people possessed them. The sixth task consisted of one going to hell and return in a set time, and if one lingered too long in the wrong realm it was impossible to leave. The body would turn to ashes then, forever bound to hell. That sounded rather horrifying actually.

But the very last gift and task was that of divination, and it had no description other than the sole statement that this task varied with each year and was the deadliest of them all. You either passed or died in the process.

It was not until then she realized what was really at stake here. Become High Priest or die, those were the choices. Which meant she might really lose either brother or boyfriend to this deadly game.

Zelda’s eyes wandered over the page, searching for nothing in particular.   
  
Suddenly, something caught her eye. A section of text below the explanation of the gifts, something like a little note. _Ordinary witches might possess up to three of the powers listed, warlocks chosen to compete in the tasks four or more._ But she had four gifts, too.   
  
It had never occurred to her before, but now it made sense. The words of the demon began to repeat itself in her head. She could run for the position, she fulfilled the criteria. Just happened to be the wrong gender.

Very slowly she closed the book, letting it glide back into its place on the shelf. But she was not yet ready to get upstairs.   
  
She needed to speak to Edward. It didn’t matter if he knew about the summoning, or grounded her for the next five weeks, she needed to know now. Because she felt like the thought had already occurred to him as well. The glance he had exchanged with Faustus during her resurrection had been suspicious even back then, and now she had her explanation. He was worried _she_ might be the one inheriting their father’s powers.

She might indeed be the next High Priestess. Right now she was not sure if that was a blessing or a curse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think <3 (also i took inspiration by american horror story:coven and the seven wonders here, i'm sorry but i changed them a little to fit the universe better)


	15. Exhale

The next morning Zelda went downstairs extra late, just before everyone was on their way to the Academy. Hilda was already standing in the hall slipping into her coat, while her brother was still in the kitchen.

Edward frowned when she entered, cigarette already in hand. “You shouldn’t be smoking this early in the morning”, he noticed, emptying his coffee cup. The mortal seemed to be gone already, which was a pleasant sight.

She ignored her brother’s words, listening whether her sister was leaving or not. The sound of the door falling shut told her enough of that. “Can we talk about something?” she wanted to know, leaning against one of the counters.

He furrowed his brows. “Now? I have conjuring in an hour -”

She interrupted. “It’s important!” Definitely more so than conjuring class.

Edward frowned even more, but nodded. “What is it?”

Suddenly nervous he wouldn’t believe her, she took a deep breath. Cleared her throat. “You have to promise not to get angry with me.” Just a precaution.

Her brother looked like he was going to have a mental breakdown any second. “What did you do this time, Zee?” he asked, obvious despair in his voice.

She sighed. “I might have summoned a demon last night in the woods.” The phrasing was intentional, not only because she expected him to explode at the words.

But he didn’t, just stared at her for a moment. _“Alone?_ ” he wanted to know, although it was relatively obvious in her opinion.

“No”, she replied, nervously wringing her hands. This would not make Edward like Faustus any more than he did right now. “But I did the summoning on my own”, she added, just a little bit proud.

Edward ran a hand through his hair, watching her take a drag of her cigarette. “Why are you telling me this?” he wanted to know, sounding like he knew there was something else to come.

Zelda bit her bottom lip, looking down at her hands. How was she supposed to make him understand? “It was a truth demon”, she began. “And he was going on and on about wanting to show me something.”

By now her brother looked alarmed. “But you said no, right?” Of course he knew the answer. Otherwise they wouldn’t have this conversation.

“I wanted to!” Zelda defended herself. This was not only her fault. “But-” there was no way to explain it, the way the demon almost magically drew her in. Better to cut straight to the point. “It told me the Dark Lord chose me to be the next High Priest!” There was a short pause. “Or Priestess, for that matter.”

Edward’s face had turned pale, his jaw had dropped a little. He was searching for words, obviously. “Demons are deceiving creatures”, he finally got out. “You can’t just take their word for granted.”

Zelda frowned. “A truth demon can not lie.”

Her brother sighed. “There are other ways to deceive than lying, Zee.” He was speaking with her like she was a child. Which she wasn’t. Not for a long time.

But she hated how logically he sounded. It was beginning to make her angry. “Edward I have four gifts”, she continued. “I checked your books, that’s not normal!”

“You did what?” he interrupted, by now pale as paper. “You can’t just go through my stuff!”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, like you did when you found the cigarettes?” she asked back, crossing her arms. Books were a different matter, anyway.

Edward took a deep breath. “Women can not be leaders in the Church of the Night, you know that Zee. The same book also said that.”

That was nonsense. Where was the difference anyway? She shrugged. “What if I take the test and pass it? They can’t deny it then!”

Her brother looked at her like she was delusional. “ _Take the test?”_ He shook his head. “Have you lost your mind, have you any idea how dangerous it is? That’s not something you just do for fun!”

Zelda was half tempted to say that at least she possessed four gifts in comparison to him, but she stopped herself. That was too far.

However Edward was nowhere near finished yet. “Besides the council will never let you take the test. No witch was ever allowed to do so.”

 _Let me be the first then._ “What if I show them what I can do, how could they say no?” she replied, being utterly serious. Convincing the council would be the easiest thing of all. They were all men, anyway, easy to fool and charm. She had enough experience on that matter.

Her brother took a deep breath. “Zee what you’re doing is dangerous. I mean it.” He stepped a little closer, like he was afraid someone might hear. Although they were all alone in the house. “Witches who don’t fall in line are gotten rid off, it’s always been like that!”

That sounded quite a bit paranoid, if she was honest. Zelda rolled her eyes. “Calm down, alright? I got this.” She wasn’t sure whether that was true. Mostly she had no idea what she was doing. But she was determined to get through this. Witches being hurt within the Church of the Night was one more reason they needed a female leader at last.

“You have no idea what you get yourself into”, her brother responded, looking very unhappy with the conversation so far. Even scared maybe.

But there was one last card he had left to play, and Zelda knew exactly which one that would be. Saw it coming even.

“Besides, what does Faustus think about this?” he wanted to know, studying her expression. “You haven’t told him, have you?”

She bit her lip, feeling quite exposed. How had he noticed so quickly? “I haven’t”, she admitted. Running against him was quite the scary thought, but then again… she did want to be High Priestess. It was an idea which she was beginning to like more and more.

Edward sighed. “One of you could die, Zee.” It was just a sole statement, the unpleasant truth.

She nodded. “I know.” But so could Edward – and would, most probably – if she let him go through with his own plan. There was no way he was the next High Priest. If the fourth gift had not showed yet, it probably wouldn’t anytime soon. Her decision was made, anyway. “I will speak to the council as soon as they agree to see me”, she added.

Her brother clenched his jaw, concern deep within his eyes. “Is there anything I can say to make you change your mind?” he wanted to know.

Zelda smiled mildly. “No.” She cleared her throat. “Don’t tell Faustus anything about this, alright?” She was afraid what he might say, or do. Competition was the last thing he probably wanted.

Her brother seemed to have read her mind. “You’re afraid he might leave you”, he spoke her thoughts out loud. “When he knows.”   
  
That was indeed what she was fearing, deep inside her heart. Because she was not sure if she would able to handle that.

She was already thinking about how to end the conversation here, when suddenly her brother pulled her into a hug. It lasted barely a second before he let go again, but it was enough to make her feel better. She could not remember the last time they had hugged each other.

Edward had always been her favourite sibling, obviously, but Hilda had been the one clinging to his arms and legs and letting him carry her around. Zelda was not affectionate like this.

“I wish you wouldn’t be so much like father”, Edward said now, eyes still sad. “It will get you killed one day.”

Zelda huffed slightly, before turning away to leave the kitchen.

This evening Edward had invited his girlfriend over for dinner, and therefore Zelda was planning to leave in order to spare herself having to eat with the mortal.

She was just in the hallway, slipping into her coat when the doorbell rang.

“Zee, can you open that?” her brother asked from the kitchen, where he was currently attempting to cook a meal which was at least somewhat enjoyable to eat.

Zelda rolled her eyes, actually having hoped not to meet Diana today, but she did as Edward asked anyway. With a sigh she opened the door, attempting a smile. “Diana”, she greeted, trying not to make it sound forced. She failed horribly.

The blonde woman smiled her usual sweet smile, stepping into the hallway and giving Zelda a hug which she actually had not expected at all. “You’re leaving?” she then asked, eyes hinting at the coat she was wearing.

“Yes”, Zelda replied, running a hand through her hair. “I’m meeting my boyfriend.” It was actually quite the funny topic, since only a few days ago Diana and Edward had walked in on her and Faustus having a rather heated make out session in the Spellman’s living room which would have ended with tearing their clothes off each other if not for the interruption. So the woman did know who Zelda was referring to, naturally.

Diana smiled at the memory, cheeks turning a slight bit pink. “He is a very lucky man”, she replied, letting her glance shift over the mini dress Zelda was wearing. “Perhaps we could all get together some time and eat.” The big smile was back.

Edward would probably hate this idea as much as Zelda did, but if his girlfriend suggested it he would perhaps even agree and make the plan happen. It was pathetic, really.

But she simply smiled back, muttering something like a half-hearted “anytime” in the other woman’s direction and then opened the door again. “I really need to go”, she excused herself, practically fleeing the house.

It was really too much with a mortal around all the time. Especially since she couldn’t use magic anymore without the fear of being discovered.

She teleported to Faustus’ house quickly, walking through his front porch and knocking on the door. Her mood was really quite low by now, just like after every encounter with Diana she had ever had.

Faustus opened the door, already smirking when he noticed the large frown on her face. “You seem delighted to see me”, he teased, leading her inside.

Zelda rolled her eyes, stepping into the hall. “Diana thinks we should have a double date with her and Edward”, she hissed, turning around to face him.

Her boyfriend on the other hand seemed to find this rather amusing. “Sounds thrilling”, he commented, reaching for her hand and pulling her into his embrace so he could wrap his arms around her waist.

“How can Edward date a mortal?” Zelda asked, seriously wondering whether her brother had lost his last braincells. Not even he could be this reckless. If the council found out… who knew what might happen to the family.

Faustus sighed, pressing a kiss to her neck. “That’s his problem.” He was probably just happy Edward was about to eliminate himself from the race for High Priest.

His lips found hers, tongue flicking into her mouth and tracing the outlines of her bottom lip. Very slowly, he found the zip of her dress.

This was actually just the distraction she had needed. Her fingers curled up in his hair, pressing herself tighter against his body.

By now he had her pressed backwards against the front door, while opening her dress and letting it sink to the floor. His fingers left shivers on her bare skin, and she could feel the cold of the wood creeping across her back.

She wrapped her legs around his body to keep herself up, not even taking the time to unbutton his shirt. There would be plenty of time for that later.

He pushed inside her roughly, teeth digging into the soft skin of her throat. His lips traveled up and down, from jaw to collarbone, leaving marks and bruises with every touch.

Zelda’s nails dug into the fabric of his shirt, even tearing it, and she moaned as she felt herself slipping closer to the edge.

The slight discomfort from being pressed against the hard wood of the door again and again made it all the more exciting and she was almost disappointed when they came in union and he let her sink to the floor, legs barely able to hold herself upright. They were both panting, and she felt herself trembling. Her hands were still in his shirt, otherwise she might have just sunken to the floor.

He kissed her again, hands running through her hair, and then he picked her up once more. “I think we should take this to the bedroom”, he whispered into her ear, and merely a second later they were upstairs.

Zelda rolled on top of him, finally tearing off that shirt of his. She straddled him on the bed, lips never leaving his. Suddenly she was very aware of what it might mean if she really went to the council and asked to participate in the test, and it only made her intensify the kiss even more.

His hands opened her bra, tossing it to the side, and then she was below him again.

This time they took their time, and Zelda was glad they did. Because then she didn’t have to think, could ignore the ache in her stomach whenever she thought about what she might do

soon enough. The thought scared her, but she didn’t feel like there was a choice. Besides the signs were too obvious to ignore much longer.

Afterwards she curled up in his arms, head resting on his chest. This way she could listen to his heartbeat. It was the most calming sound in the entire world.

“Do you think Edward is going to tell the mortal the truth?” he eventually asked into the silence.

Zelda looked up, frowning. “What truth?”

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “That he is a warlock.”

Oh she sure hoped not. That would be against every witch law existing. Then again it sounded a lot like something her brother would do. “I don’t know”, she replied truthfully, biting her lip. “The poor woman would probably run away screaming.”

He chuckled, pulling her a little closer. “Maybe she’ll move in with you soon”, he teased her, placing a light kiss on top of her head.

Zelda rolled her eyes. That would be the day she blew the house up. “I doubt she would stay if he told her”, she replied. Miss Diana was much too sweet for the path of night, and Zelda was pretty sure she was catholic as well. At least she liked to wear a cross around her neck occasionally.

“Well, who knows”, he replied, fingers still playing with her hair. “It’s better than to keep secrets.”

She wasn’t sure if he had said those words intentionally, or if it had simply been a coincidence, but they made her feel really uneasy. Very suddenly, she sat up in the bed. She felt the strong urge to move away.

Faustus furrowed his brows, sitting up as well. “What is it?” he wanted to know, placing a kiss on her shoulder.

Zelda took a deep breath. She couldn’t tell him. Edward had been right, she was too afraid how he might react. If this relationship was to end, she wanted to keep it for as long as possible. At least a few more months. She wasn’t ready to let go just yet.

Swiftly she shifted closer again, pressing a light kiss to his lips. “Nothing”, she ensured him, before lying down once more.

Perhaps he would love her enough to forgive her when the time came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soo things are getting a bit more tense haha i hope you liked it <3


	16. Let me Live / Let me Die

In the end, Zelda ended up dodging this particular bullet for much longer than intended, meaning exactly five years and three months. It was January, snow had fallen, and the Council had finally agreed to meet her within the walls of the Academy.

However, a lot had happened in those years.

The biggest change had probably been with Edward and Diana. Much to Zelda’s dislike they had not in fact broken up, but gotten secretly engaged after two years of constant dating. He had confessed the truth to her soon after, and she had taken it as well as one probably could. But no one was supposed to know, which was why the wedding was to be held in a small chapel in London. The priest was a mortal and it was a mortal ceremony, with only Hilda, her and Faustus and Diana’s family.

Zelda had refused to attend at first, but after her brother had told her excessively that he wanted nothing more in the world than to have his favourite sister there she had agreed to come. In return he had kept her secret from Faustus all those years, even slightly helped her with convincing the Council to at least listen to her.

Now Diana Spellman was living under their roof, which was still as annoying to Zelda as ever. Of course it was great that she could now use magic around her, but she still didn’t trust her completely, let alone like her. And Diana liked to raise her eyebrows and look slightly uncomfortable whenever Zelda made use of her telekinesis at the breakfast table, letting her plates drift through the air without ever touching them just to see the mortal’s face. It was oddly amusing.

But due to this situation she had spend even more time at Faustus’ house, perhaps even half moved in by now. Diana liked to make remarks about when the two of them might get married, but Zelda had managed to stir away from the topic whenever it came up. She didn’t want to bring it up until she had gotten the chance to tell him about her plan.

But here she was, standing in front of the Academy building and not daring to set her foot inside. Her brother was teaching here by now, and so was Faustus for that matter. Technically she was still attending classes, but she had dropped most of them some time ago and was only really going to her language seminars by now. Besides she didn’t want to be taught by either her brother or her boyfriend anyway, so she had stepped away from those particular subjects.

It took her a few more minutes to gather the strength to enter the building, making her way right to the High Priest’s office. She knocked on the door and was called inside immediately, which she thought might be a good sign. And so she stepped into the room.

The High Priest was sitting behind his desk, looking up when she came in. “Miss Spellman”, he greeted, getting up from his chair. At least he did not make it sound unwelcoming.

She smiled politely, watching him walk through the room. Suddenly he opened a door which she had never noticed before, hidden in plain sight behind a wall curtain.

“Come with me”, he told her, holding it open for her.

Zelda stepped into another room, even larger than the office. It was filled with a long table and four people sitting behind it, and a single chair standing in front of it. She stopped in front of the table, keeping her distance. None of the men behind the table looked familiar, but she could guess that they were the Council.

The High Priest joined them, taking a seat in the middle.

Quickly, Zelda sat down on the chair. She crossed her legs, smoothing out her skirt. Today she had opted for a rather short one, because why not use all the assets she had, right?

“Miss Spellman”, the man on the very right began the conversation. He had blonde hair and a blonde moustache, and glasses which were much too big for his face. “We were told you had a matter of importance to discuss with us.”

She nodded, not sure how she should even begin. Was there a proper way to address such a topic? But all of them were looking at her with expectation, so she just talked. “My father was High Priest”, she began. “Until his death.”   
  
She had been in Europe when Edward had called her about their father’s death. Their mother has passed a few years earlier, when Zelda had barely gotten her Dark Baptism. She could vividly remember the funeral, Hilda sobbing, Edward crying, and herself staring mindlessly at the empty casket not shedding a single tear. Her father had never forgiven her for that. And so he had sent her away to a foreign country, to foreign people, and she had learn the hard way how to survive without a mother and with a father who never really cared.

But one day Edward had called, with tears in his voice and told her that their father had passed away this morning. She had been in Barcelona at the time, lying on the beach with some warlock boy next to her. Her brother had asked when she would come back for the funeral, and she had told him that she had no intention in doing so and hung up. Later she had gotten drunk on cocktails, smoked a pack of cigarettes and forgotten all about it. Edward had called a week later, telling her it was done and if she wanted she could come home. She didn’t want to. Greendale had not been her home, not anymore.

But now things were all different, and when she walked through the Spellman house now she didn’t think about her father anymore.

Which was the reason it felt weird to mention him now, to act like his claim for the seat was somehow hers as well.

The blonde man interrupted her melancholic thoughts. “We are aware of that, Miss Spellman. Your brother told us all about that when he met with us.” He smiled mildly, holding a pen in hand which was scratching notes on a piece of paper. His eyes were not even following the words.

“Well”, Zelda replied, trying not to let her voice shake. “My brother thinks he has inherited my father’s claim for the seat of High Priest.” She took a deep breath. “But I think it might be me.”   
  
A silence followed, in which the men at the table all exchanged long glances. In the end it was the High Priest who spoke. “Miss Spellman, the Church of Night has never had a female leader before. It is simply not possible.”

She frowned. “With all due respect, how do you know that?” It was probably quite rude to address him like that, but she didn’t care anymore.

The man on the right answered in his stead. “History has proven so much”, he replied dryly. His pen had stopped writing.

Zelda raised an eyebrow. “If you are so sure, where is the harm in letting me take the test?”

Again, knowing glances were exchanged. “Miss Spellman”, the High Priest noted, appearing quite shocked at her demand. “This test is very dangerous, warlocks have been known to die during its challenges.”

Like she didn’t know that already. “I am aware”, she responded. “I would still like to try.” She smiled as sweetly as possible. “There is no harm in trying, is there?” Her fingers played with a strand of her. The oldest trick in the book.

“Do you possess the four gifts which are needed in order to be accepted as a contestant?” The man on the left was talking for the first time, his eyes never having left her the entire time she had sat here. Still he had not opened his mouth until now.

Zelda nodded. “Of course I do.” This was what Edward had warned her against. They wouldn’t like to hear this at all. He had advised her to lie, say there were only three so far, but she had feared they might not listen to her then.

The man smiled, almost wickedly. “Quite unusual for a witch, isn’t it?” He looked over to the High Priest, who looked everything but pleased on his part. There was something in his eyes she could not quite read. “I believe that if Miss Spellman is determined to try, then why hold her back?”

Zelda watched the High Priest’s expression very carefully, just as the other men on the table did. Finally, he gave an answer. “I agree”, he said very slowly, while the man on the right was hectically scratching down his notes.

She could feel her heartbeat quickening. “So I will be allowed to participate?” she carefully followed up. Just to be sure.

But the man nodded. “For your own peril.” He smiled weakly. “I do not wish to see such a talented witch vanish on us.” It was clearly a lie. The only reason he was probably agreeing was since he saw it as an easy way to get rid of her.

Still, Zelda simply thanked the Council and smiled, leaving the room without ever looking back.

Being underestimated was not necessarily a bad thing. She had gotten what she wanted, just as expected. Men were easily convinced, after all. She could only hope that this was also true for Faustus.

She ran into him much sooner than hoped, just in the hallway outside the office.

“What are you doing here?” he greeted her, placing a kiss on her temple and letting a hand run through her hair. “I didn’t know you had classes today.”   
  
For some reason, today was a bad day for lying. She didn’t feel like it at all. Which was why she cleared her throat. “Can we talk somewhere?” Quickly she looked around herself. “A little more private.” This was hardly the right time, in any case.

Faustus frowned, and merely a second later they were in his kitchen. “Private enough?” he wanted to know, a smirk on his lips. He pulled her closer gently, arms wrapped around her waist. Softly he placed a kiss on her neck.

However this was not at all what she had come here to do. Although she was very tempted just to give in, postpone the secret to another day. But that was not possible, of course.

And therefore she pulled back, feeling terribly guilty about all of it. “I really meant it when I said I wanted to talk, you know”, she replied, not quite able to hide the smile from her lips. “So stop distracting me!”

He sighed, letting go of her. “Go ahead.”

Zelda took a deep breath, suddenly feeling empty without his arms around her. She had gotten used to it too much by now. There really was no going back. “I’ve been meaning to tell you for some time”, she began, although it was probably all the wrong words. It sounded worse than it was. “I just didn’t know how.” That was terribly vague, she knew that herself.

He frowned, leaning backwards against the kitchen table. By now he looked concerned. “Alright”, he replied slowly. Obviously he was at a loss for words. Who could blame him, really.

Again, Zelda felt the need to clear her throat. She was not sure how to continue. “I met with the Church of Night’s Council today.” There it was, the truth. Just hanging in the air between them.

He looked at her like she had lost her mind. “Why would you do that?” he wanted to know, trying to follow up. His brows were furrowed deeply.

By now she was biting her lip nervously, wringing her hands to avoid having to think about what to do with them. It was not helping at all. How could she even begin to explain? “I couldn’t tell you”, she blurted out, without even thinking about it. “I thought you might-” she broke off. It was too painful to say out loud. Even just speaking the words. Like that would make them more likely to come true.

Naturally he had no idea what she was talking about, how could he, but he simply took a step towards her and reached for her hands. She hardly resisted when he pulled her closer. “Might do what?” he asked, his fingers circling over the skin of her wrists.

Zelda sighed, resisting the urge to lean against him and just bury herself in his arms. That was too familiar of an escape. “Break up with me”, she ended her sentence, not able to look him in the eyes. She was aware that he still had no idea what she was talking about.

His hands lifted her chin, forcing her to look up. “Why would I do that?” he wanted to know.

Suddenly it was too much, of everything. Zelda stepped away, breaking the touch. She couldn’t bear it anymore. “Because”, she began. “I want to be High Priestess.” It was a sole statement, and a long silence followed the words. Or at least it seemed to last an eternity.

His eyes never left her. But he never said anything.

Eventually, Zelda gave in. “I asked the Council whether I was allowed to take the test or not. They agreed.” She took a deep breath. Out of a sudden she was very sorry. Not just for lying.

Faustus was still starring at her, expression frozen. She had no idea what he was thinking, still not after all these years.

“Can you say something?” She felt like talking to a wall. Screaming, yelling, everything would be better than this silence. And the look his eyes gave her.

Finally, he reacted. “What am I supposed to say to that?” he replied, voice very cold. “You made the decision already.”

That was true, no arguing against that. She nodded slowly.

Faustus huffed, running a hand through his hair. “You might die, are you aware of that?” Now he sounded hurt, suddenly.

That was the last thing she worried about. Actually she was quite confident in herself. “So could you”, she replied. Where was the difference? “And you never asked me how I felt about that either.” She didn’t want to fight, but this was unfair. He could be angry about her not telling him or about her now competing with him, but not about her risking her life. After all he was about to do the same.

“I can’t believe Edward is letting you do this...” he muttered, shaking his head. He looked rather desperate by now.

Zelda took a deep breath. “It’s not his decision”, she answered quietly. Her brother was surely everything but happy about the situation, but that had no influence on her actions. It couldn’t.

Faustus sighed. “He warned me this might happen. Edward said once you found out you would never stop.” His eyes were rather sad. “Why, Zelda? Why do you suddenly insist on becoming High Priestess?”   
  
Actually there was nothing sudden about her decision. By now there were tears in her eyes.   
  
How could she ever make him understand? “My mother died right after I had my Dark Baptism”, she began. “I sat at the funeral, but no matter how empty I felt I could not cry.” The first tear rolled down her cheek. She turned away slightly, not wanting for him to see it. No one had ever seen Zelda Spellman cry. “My father never forgave me for that. If he didn’t like me before, it only got worse after my mother passed.” She shrugged slightly. “He loved Edward, of course, his eldest son and heir. And Hilda was only six and she was still cute and lovely, he loved her too.” The memory hurt a lot more than she would ever admit openly. “So he sent me away to Europe, so he wouldn’t have to face me anymore.” Actually she had no idea why she was saying all this. The tragic Spellman family history was not even the point here.

But she continued nevertheless. “I never saw him again. I was in Europe for his death, and didn’t come back for the funeral. Just pretended I stopped caring.” She took a deep breath, more tears streaming down her face. It was horrible, made her feel utterly weak. But she had never spoken the words out loud before. “The most important thing to my father was always the Church of Night. He was so proud of being High Priest.” She remembered the cocky attitude he liked to uphold, similar to her brother nowadays. “So that’s why I want to be High Priestess.” It was a selfish reason if she was honest, but she had wanted him to know. He deserved to understand. “I just want my father to watch from hell how his least favourite child takes the crown and continues his legacy.” She couldn’t help but sob a little afterwards.

A silence followed her story. She was half expecting him to still be mad at her, but after a few seconds he just silently took a step forward and took her into his arms. His fingers caressed her hair while he pressed her against him, her head resting on his chest. The tears were still coming, and Zelda wondered when she had cried for the last time. She could hardly remember.

It seemed an eternity later when they broke apart, Faustus taking her face into his hands. “How can I compete against you?” he whispered, barely audible. “You of all people.”

She had asked herself the same question, over and over again. How could she compete knowing either one of them might die, and if he did it would be her fault?

He pressed his lips to hers, almost desperately. Like she was the last thing saving him from drowning. Her fingers curled up in the fabric of his shirt, pressing his back against the kitchen table. His teeth dug into her bottom lip, tongue slipping into her mouth.

Zelda was gasping when they broke apart, not having expected such intensity from the kiss. A shiver ran down her spine, and her heart was racing inside her chest. “I can’t turn back now”, she said, almost apologetic. “I have to go through with this.”

His eyes were very sorry. “So do I”, he replied, tucking a curl behind her ear.

And so it was decided, although they both knew the real challenge was still to come.

“I love you”, he breathed against her lips.

Zelda wondered if that would change if she turned out to be the next High Priestess. She could only hope and pray to Satan that she was wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for the time jumps but i didn't want to drag out the story for too long <3


	17. Renegades

It was Christmas morning three years after that night in the kitchen, and the last Christmas before the test. It would take place on the 1st of January, on the grounds of the Academy. The date had been set only recently, since the High Priest had passed away past Halloween and the grieving phase was now over.

Zelda rolled onto her back, slowly opening her eyes and glancing over to the window. It was snowing outside. Carefully she sat up, as far as she could with Faustus’ arm wrapped around her. She tried her best to slip out of his embrace but failed, and therefore rested her head on his chest.   
  
But by now she had moved enough to wake him, his eyes finding hers. But instead of releasing her he only pressed her tighter against him and let his fingers run through her hair. “Where did you want to go?” he asked her with a smirk.

She sighed, looking up to him. “Breakfast”, she replied quietly. The yule log was probably already lit, but her brother liked to make a tradition of eating together on Christmas morning. Especially now that they sort of celebrated Christmas, thanks to Diana. She even bought everyone presents each year. Hilda loved that especially.

Faustus let go of her then, enabling her to sit up properly. Zelda reached for her cigarettes on the night stand, lighting it and taking a long drag. Every morning she was dreadfully aware that the one day drew nearer, and there was nothing she could do to avoid it.

He seemed to be reading her mind, since he moved closer again and pressed a light kiss to her shoulder. “It’s going to be fine”, he whispered into her hair, taking the cigarette from her and drawing once himself. Then he handed it back to her. “Better get dressed for breakfast then.”

Zelda watched him slip out of her bed, reaching for his clothes on the floor. He had quite many of his shirts in her dresser by now, and some of them she had stolen and kept for herself. She liked to fall asleep in them if she was ever alone at night. Now she slipped into one of those too, since she was only wearing a bra and too lazy to get anything else. Slowly she watched the smoke of the cigarette rise into the air, not quite knowing why the view of that made her feel sad.

Faustus’ voice interrupted her. “Zelda.” He reached for her hand, pulling her down from the bed and up to her feet. “Stop looking so grim, please.”

But how could she? When all they were facing ahead was so dark.

He sighed, placing a kiss on her forehead. “We made the choice to take this path. Both of us.” His fingers stroke over her lips, then her jaw. “It’s our own doing.”   
  
That was true, of course, but she had not expected it to be this hard. Which had been naive and foolish maybe, but she had hoped it might be easier. “I know”, she replied, taking one last draw from her cigarette before letting it burn out and throwing it into her ashtray. Their ambition had brought this upon them, the fact that they were both never satisfied with what they had but wanted more. And that they were willing to risk everything for it. Even each other.

He held the door open so she could slip out of the room and into the hallway. Voices were echoing through the house already, the others seemed to have started with breakfast already. But that was fine, they were used to being the last ones who joined.

The conversation died as soon as the two of them entered the kitchen, Faustus sitting on the wooden bench and Zelda sitting down on his lap.

She leaned her back against his chest, reaching for the coffee and pouring two cups. “Good morning”, she interrupted the silence, since no one else seemed willing to talk.

Her brother nipped on his coffee, expression stern.

Diana put a hand on his arm, smiling politely. “Merry Christmas”, she replied. Of course she was wearing a Christmas sweater.

And so was Hilda, as Zelda noticed now. Her sister really had to adapt everything from the mortal as it seemed.

Zelda lit herself a cigarette, although she knew how much Edward hated her smoking in the morning. But she didn’t care. “One more week”, she said quietly, eyeing her brother. “How is the Pyrokinesis doing?”

Edward put the coffee cup down on the table, harsher than he needed to. This morning he seemed to be particularly tense.

Again, Diana was stroking his arm. It was beginning to make Zelda really mad. She was half tempted to say something, but Faustus’ grip around her hip intensified and she stayed quiet. Like he was telling her to stay silent. The atmosphere was tense enough already.

“Great, thanks for asking”, her brother replied, stirring in his coffee like that would make all the problems go away.

At the other end of the table, Hilda cleared her throat. “What is the test like?”   
  
All eyes turned to her. Zelda took a hectic drag from her cigarette. She didn’t wish to be the one who answered that.

It was Edward who replied. “That is nothing you have to worry about.” He attempted a smile.

Diana was frowning, but never said anything. She sure knew what lied ahead. Instead she was still holding onto Edward’s arm like it would make any difference.

“I heard one could die”, Hilda answered, voice slightly shaking. Her eyes pierced through her brother, than they found Zelda. “Some people in my seminar said that.”

Zelda’s hands were shaking when she lifted the cigarette to her lips. She didn’t even taste it anymore. It was like going numb. “They’re not wrong, are they”, she replied dryly, watching the smoke disappear in the air above her.

Edward shot her an angry look, and Diana furrowed her brows. Her smile was rather frozen.

Behind her, Faustus sighed silently and pulled her a little closer.

Hilda’s eyes had widened a little. “Really?” she repeated, like she had suddenly lost all her brain power.

It was beginning to be really stupid. “Did it sound like I’m joking?” Zelda snapped back, feeling much too tense this morning to keep up with her sister.

“Zee”, Edward muttered, glancing in her direction. _Shut up,_ he was saying. _Shut up or I’ll make you._ She had no doubt that he would, as bad as his mood was right now. Poor Diana probably just wanted to celebrate Christmas in peace.

Zelda shrugged, putting her cigarette out in her ashtray which sat in the middle of the table. She resisted the urge to light another one right away. This was tearing at her nerves.

“I need to go to the Academy”, Edward interrupted the silence, pushing his chair backwards and getting up. “I can take you with me”, he offered in Hilda’s direction, who still seemed shocked by what she had just learned.

Diana followed her husband’s example and got up, smiling nervously. “I should get going to, my parents-” she broke off, like she had suddenly realized that no one cared. “Maybe we can get back together this evening, watch some Christmas movies.” The frozen smile was back. Not even her happy spirit was able to survive the current atmosphere in this house.

“Of course”, Edward replied quickly, shooting Zelda a warning look. _Don’t you dare to talk back._ “We will”, he added, very urging this time.

She just shrugged, leaning against Faustus some more. That was something she could do without very well.

Hilda was all over it of course, her mind suddenly not occupied with the test anymore as it seemed. She was happily chatting with Diana, as they both walked into the hallway and began to get ready to leave.

Edward stayed behind, leaning over to Zelda for a moment. “You’re here tonight, no excuses.” He clenched his jaw. “And no more fighting with your sister, Zee, you’re not sixteen anymore.”

She frowned. That was unfair. “It’s not my fault she’s too stupid to understand anything”, she snapped back, crossing her arms. Why was she the bad guy now? Edward was the one who had lied. “And I don’t want to watch Christmas movies and play happy family!” She got up from the bench, loosening herself from Faustus’ grip. All she wanted was to get away, from everyone.

She fled the kitchen before Edward was able to catch her, rushing through the hallway past Diana and Hilda and slipping out of the back door into the yard. Although it was most likely below zero degrees and she was trembling with cold, she sat down on one of the benches outside the house. Everything was better than being inside right now.

It took a few minutes until the door was opened again and Faustus joined her outside, sighing when he noticed her sitting there. “Edward is gone, you can come inside now.”

She didn’t react, just watched the snowflakes falling onto the already white ground. It was oddly calming.

He sat down next to her, not saying anything else.

Zelda bit her lip, carefully looking over to him. “Don’t you have classes to teach?” she wanted to know, half hoping he would say yes and leave her alone. Then again she didn’t want to sit here on her own, either.

“I didn’t want to leave you alone”, he answered truthfully, eyes resting on her. There was something else he didn’t speak out loud. Neither of them knew how much time remained.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. By now she didn’t even feel the cold anymore. “I’m fine”, she said quietly. “You can go.” There were some books which needed her attention, and then she would prepare herself for watching Christmas movies with Diana. That alone was enough to make her want to freeze to death outside.

He leaned forward to take her face into his hands, gently forcing her to look at him. Then he kissed her, as light and soft as he seldom did. It was barely more than a brush of lips against lips. “You can come to my place when the Christmas spirit gets too much”, he offered, smirking a little.

Zelda huffed, nodding. “I’ll be there”, she promised. Spending the nights alone seemed much too lonely at this point.

The evening actually turned out even worse than Zelda had imagined. She sat in the corner of the sofa, far enough away from the others to be able to ignore their chatting and stared at the screen of the TV, not even listening to what the people in it were saying.

They were half way through Home Alone 3 when Hilda eventually excused herself and said she was tired, getting up from under her blanket and making her way upstairs.

This had actually just been what Zelda has waited for, an excuse to leave. “Can I go now?” she asked her brother, already sitting up. She kept her voice down, since Diana had fallen asleep in his arm. The mortal was much more easy to be around when she was asleep, the only reason she didn’t mean to wake her.

Edward rolled his eyes, pausing the movie. “Hilda and I will drive out to Diana’s parents tomorrow morning. You can come, if you want.” He glanced down at his wife. “She would be happy to have you there!”

Zelda doubted that. She had done everything she could to make sure the mortal didn’t like her. “Celebrating Christmas with a bunch of mortals is not really my thing”, she replied dryly, getting up from the sofa.

Her brother sighed. Carefully he put Diana down on the sofa, loosening her grip around his arm. “Zee wait”, he tried to hold her back, but Zelda ignored him.

She walked through the kitchen, trying to slip away before he might catch up with her. But she was too slow.

He blocked her way into the hallway, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms. “You could start to be a little nicer to Diana”, he noted, frowning a little. “She really does her best here.”   
  
Zelda huffed. “I don’t care.” It was a lie. She did care, which was why she was so defensive about everything at the moment.

Suddenly a voice behind them interrupted. “Edward.” Diana smiled, wrapping her satin dressing gown around her shoulders while she walked through the kitchen and stopped next to her husband. “Can you leave us ladies alone for a moment?” She smiled sweetly, but urging.

Zelda was half tempted to use the distraction to teleport away, but she resisted. Her brother would be furious if she did anything of the sorts.

As expected Edward listened to Diana – as always – and left the room, but not without one last warning glance in his sister’s direction.

Diana turned to her, still smiling. “He’s just worried about you”, she explained, tucking a short blond curl behind her ear. The ring on her finger sparkled in the dim light. “He just wants to protect you.”

“I can do without that”, Zelda replied, crossing her arms in a defensive manner. She couldn’t remember ever having talked with Diana alone, not like this at least, and it was making her rather uncomfortable.

The other woman tilted her head a little, now smiling almost sadly. “I can only imagine what it must be like for you right now”, she continued, still keeping her soft tone. “Going against your boyfriend in such a test-”   
  
Zelda interrupted. “You’re not a witch.” This was really not the topic she would discuss with a mortal. “So you have no idea what it is like.” Also her relationship was nobody’s business anyway.

Diana sighed. “I know of course, but”, she smiled weakly. “I just thought if you wanted to talk to someone, who is not your brother, then you could talk to me.” Her tone was still friendly.

How did she do that? Always keep this attitude, although Zelda gave her more than enough reason to be mad by now? It was a mystery to her. Maybe a mortal thing, who knew. “I’m fine”, Zelda replied, forcing herself to smile. “You can tell Edward, so he stops running after me.”

“You don’t have to keep saying that”, Diana now urged. She took a step towards Zelda. “No one in your situation would be fine.” Again, that smile.

Obviously she was really trying to push Zelda’s buttons, and she had to admit it was working. It was really beginning to get on her nerves. “I’m sorry, I need to go”, she decided to say. This conversation had played out too long already.

She teleported out of the room then, right into Faustus’ yard. At least the mortal was not able to follow her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is going to be the test so get excited everyone <3 (also another time jump i'm sorry)


	18. Bad Moon Rising

But Christmas passed, and so did the rest of December, and much sooner than she would have liked Zelda woke up and it was the 1st of January. Immediately she sat up straight in her bed, reaching for a cigarette with shaky hands. She was barely able to concentrate enough to light it.

Faustus and her had decided to spend the night apart, just because Zelda had feared she would not manage to separate in the morning. But now she regretted it, missed the warmth of his body next to herself. The sheets felt awfully cold.

She inhaled the smoke of the cigarette, hoping to feel better. Suddenly she was doubting herself. Perhaps she was not fit to be High Priestess after all. What if this was all wrong, and she would end up getting killed? Another drag from the cigarette. The taste of ash burned in her mouth. Why couldn’t she just stop thinking for a little while?

She finished her cigarette and lit another one, while mindlessly getting dressed and did her make up. It was hard to concentrate, her mind always wandering off. But her eyeliner was sharp as ever, and when she applied her second coat of red lipstick she felt better. No one would know how scared she really was.

Apart from Faustus, maybe. He had a way of looking into her heart, almost reading her mind. She wished she could do the same with him.

It was oddly silent in the house when Zelda walked downstairs, not a single sound to be heard. Diana’s car was not parked outside, which was weird enough, and Hilda did not seem to be present, either.

Zelda found her brother in the kitchen, sitting broodingly on the table and staring into his cup of coffee like the liquid was telling a secret.   
  
“Good morning”, she interrupted, causing him to jump a little. She sat down at the other end, pouring herself some coffee. Then she lit a cigarette.

Edward took a sip of coffee, not saying a word. The dreadful silence continued.

She took a draw from her cigarette, deeply inhaling the smoke. A small bit of ash crumbled onto the table. “Where is everyone?” she finally asked, taking a sip of coffee herself. It was much too bitter.

“Diana has taken Hilda shopping”, he replied, voice sounding as dull as his expression looked. “Trying to distract her a little.” He cleared his throat. “She’s really scared for you.”

Zelda sighed. Was this supposed to make her feel bad, change her mind? Because it was too late for that. “She should be scared for you, you’re the one with only three gifts”, Zelda commented, although the humour did not really come across. The situation was much too serious.

Her brother leaned back in his chair, eyeing her for a moment. “You don’t have to do this”, he said, regardless of what she had just noted. He liked to ignore anything she said anyway. “You can still turn around, it’s not too late.”   
  
But it had been too late the night she had summoned the demon. There was no going back now. “Edward”, she sighed. “I made my choice.” If she had doubts now, she would never succeed. And she wanted to be High Priestess. More than anything. Just to be sure that her father watched and saw her succeed.

His green eyes pierced through her. Like they were searching for a weakness. And they found one. “He won’t stay with you.”

Without mentioning a name, Zelda knew exactly who they were talking about. Why did he need to bring this up right now? It was truly unfair. “You don’t know that”, she replied, but it was hardly convincing.

Edward smiled weakly. “He won’t watch you becoming High Priestess, be sure of that.” By now the gleam in his eyes was almost wicked. “It’s him or the throne, you know that.”

Her grip around her coffee cup tightened, and she quickly drew on her cigarette. It was hardly calming, though. “So suddenly you believe I could make it?” she said, trying her very best to sound as confident as she would have liked to be.

Her brother shrugged. “Who knows.” He took a sip of coffee, then put it down on the table. “But are you ready to watch Faustus die so you can rise?”

It was obvious what he was trying to do here, and she hated the fact that it was working. “Are you ready to watch me die?” she snapped back, sounding much more hurt than she would have liked to sound. “Your own sister?”

For a second he looked truly hurt. The moment passed in silence. “Why do you think am I still trying to stop you?” he eventually asked. “Because I don’t want to lose you, Zee.”

She took a deep breath. Her hand with the cigarette was shaking. Almost angrily she put it out in the ashtray, watching it crumble into little pieces. It was close to 9am. Almost time to leave.

Edward seemed to have noticed too, since his glance shifted nervously to the clock. “We should go”, he said into the silence.

Zelda nodded almost mechanically, standing up and following him into the hallway. Why was she doing this? She must have gone crazy. There was no way she was going to pass this test.

Her brother stopped in the hall and turned around to face her. “If during the test, you feel like you can’t continue-” his voice was urging. “Please stop, alright? Don’t insist on getting yourself killed.” He meant every word.

She nodded, even smiling slightly. “I’m not an idiot, you know”, she replied.

Edward huffed. “Sometimes I’m not so sure about that.” He pulled her into a hug, placing a light kiss on top of her head. “Spellman family trait”, he added.

That was not even far from the truth. They had a specific talent of getting themselves into these sort of situations. She pulled back from the embrace, smoothing out her hair. It was a little messy today. “We should go”, she repeated his words from earlier.

Her brother nodded. It was a sad nod.

They teleported to the Academy then, arriving just in front of its grounds. The yard stretched out even more now that there was snow, covering every centimetre of grass.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, and she felt some very familiar lips pressed against her neck. “You’re almost late”, Faustus whispered against her skin, placing another kiss on her cheek. “I was hoping you had changed your mind.” It was only half teasing, since this was not really the time for jokes.

Zelda turned around, resting her hands on his neck and occupying his lips with hers. It was with much more intensity than she had intended, his tongue tracing her bottom lip and then finding its way into her mouth. She bit down on his lip, softly tearing at it. It was a desperate try to hold on, delay what needed to happen for another moment or two.

They broke apart when Edward cleared his throat, looking almost like he had the need to throw up. “I didn’t need to watch that”, he commented dryly, opening the gate to the Academy yard and stepping inside.

Faustus and Zelda followed with some distance. It felt weird, just being here. Like something was not quite right. Which it wasn’t, in a way.

The Council appeared out of nowhere, just suddenly standing in the middle of the snowy yard. The man with the blonde hair which Zelda remembered from her meeting stepped forward, greeting each of them and then delivering a monologue about why they were here and what awaited them. She was only half listening, fearing it might scare her too much to continue if she heard.

Finally, the first task was to begin. Teleportation, which was pretty much the easiest. All three of them succeeded, and they were quick to continue to task number two. Telekinesis went smoothly as well, but that had been expected. Those two were the easiest. What followed was Pyrokinesis, the thing which Zelda knew had given her brother sleepless nights.

A table appeared out of nowhere, with three candles set atop. They were all supposed to make the candle lit, naturally without ever touching them.

Faustus began, taking merely a second until the candle was burning bright even in the chilly wind which has risen. The Council looked rather content with the test so far, exchanging knowing glances. There was no doubt who their favourite was. It was definitely not Zelda.

It was her turn next, and although she felt her hands shaking with a mixture of cold and fear, the candle lit the moment she set eyes on it. The men looked rather grim now, muttering something to each other under their breaths. It made her smile a little.

Her eyes travelled over to Edward, who was a nervous wreck by now. He was staring at the candle, almost piercing through it, but nothing happened. It stayed as it was before.

After a few seconds another man stepped forward, one which Zelda could hardly remember to ever have seen before, let alone here his voice. “Edward Spellman, the test ends here.” His tone was firm, but not negatively.

She felt herself slightly relieved, although it was hard to tell if it was because it was less competition now or if she was just glad her brother escaped the more dangerous parts of the test.

Edward looked rather devastated, but he must have known that it would end here. He had never been able to master Pyrokinesis before.

Task four turned out to be Resurrection, but both Zelda and Faustus had done it before so it was not really a challenge after all. They both mastered it perfectly, and she could swear to see some of the men’s faces darken after she had successfully brought back her mouse. They probably had not believed her about the four gifts after all.

After that, the blonde man stepped forward again. “Next is mind control.” He smiled dryly, but it never reached his eyes. “Mister Spellman, since you are here, the contestants may show their skills on you.”

Zelda almost had to laugh at her brother’s face, who stepped forward with a rather dull look on his face. “Go ahead”, he told her, since it was her turn first. He wanted her to fail, she knew it. The dangerous tasks were still ahead.

She took a deep breath, locking her eyes with her brother’s. It was the first time she was attempting this. But it had to work. She imagined Edward turning around himself, the way he had done during his wedding dance with Diana.

And suddenly, he did.

Next to her Faustus gasped in surprise. “It worked”, he muttered under his breath. It sounded concerned, if anything.

But she was just as surprised as he was. “I suppose it did”, she replied quietly, not even sure if he had heard the words.

Naturally Faustus mastered it as well, making Edward perform twenty push ups just right there in the snow. It worked perfectly well, only her brother was annoyed and frozen in the end.

Now there were only two tasks left. The most dangerous ones, the ones which were known to leave a trail of dead warlocks behind.   
  
Once more, the blonde man stepped forward. “Task number six”, he began, voice echoing through the air. Somewhere a raven cried. “Astral Projection.” He tilted his head a little. “Or a trip to hell in better words.”

A shiver run down Zelda’s spine. She looked over to Faustus, who was frowning deeply.

The man continued to explain the task. “You have one hour in this world, which is barely more than a few minutes in the other realm. If you do not return in time-” He made a significant pause. “Your soul will be stuck in limbo, and you will not be able to return.” His gaze lingered on Zelda for a split second.

She understood that this was how the Council had planned to get rid of her, but she would not make it that easy for them. Her eyes found her brother’s, who looked like he might collapse any second. He was terribly worried, she could sense it from metres away. But there was nothing she could say to make it better. Just return in time.

They were told to lie down on the ground, the snow clinging to her hair the second she sat down. It was soft under her touch.

Faustus reached for her hand for a second, squeezing it lightly. “Come back to me, please.”

She gave her best to smile. He was so sure that he could do it all, that he would win. She was afraid that attitude might get him killed. “Do you know what awaits us?” she asked quietly, so the Council would not hear.

He sighed, letting go of her hand. “Our worst fear, most likely. Something will try to drag us away from this realm and into the other.” His fingers ran through her hair briefly. “Don’t let it get to you, whatever it is.”

She nodded. That sounded very promising. But it was her own fault for getting herself into this. Now she had to live with the consequences. “Both of us come back”, she replied, trying to sound optimistic. But that was not her strength.

Then they laid down in the snow, Faustus beginning to speak the incantation needed to descend into hell. A few seconds later silence returned, and she figured it might be her turn. She repeated the words, voice only slightly shaking. Once she had spoken the last words, everything around her turned dark.

For a long time she felt like falling, just falling through dark nothingness. It was like Astral Projection, but somehow her spirit seemed to stretch further away. Not just into the Astral Plane, but right into a different realm. A realm of spirits, and demons, and everything that was dead and doomed. One the living were not allowed to set foot in, usually. And if they did they were likely to end up in Limbo, forever being chased by their own desperation and the soul eater.

The next time she woke she was indeed in hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think is gonna happen next, who you think is gonna 'win' etc <3


	19. Time

Faustus opened his eyes, suddenly wide awake. He jerked upwards, gasping. It took him some seconds to realize where he was, what had just happened. _Where he came from._

Just a moment earlier he had been in hell, witnessing the car crash which had killed his parents all those years ago. Only this time there had been three people in the car, and he had been forced to stand by and watch.

His body had been frozen solid, eyes glued to the events which played out in front of him.

He had stood next to a road, the sky above him dark with clouds. It was an alley, thick oak trees to either side. Snowflakes were drifting to the ground, and in the dim light the snow on the ground appeared to be gleaming. It all looked so peaceful. For a second, at least. Before everything went up in flames.

Somewhere an engine roared, and then a car shot past him with a tempo which was clearly above speed limit. The tires scratched over the road, leaving marks within the snow. Then the car began to drift sideways, no matter how much the man in the front was tearing at the steering wheel. He hit the brakes with such force that they roared, but nothing happened. The car slid off the road, crashing against one of the nearby trees. Screams echoed through the air, metal cracked. The oak tree stood as tall as if nothing had happened.

Then a long silence. Which was almost worse than the noise before.

He could still remember dragging Zelda’s body out of the wreck, the scarlet colour of blood against her pale skin. It had all felt so real, like he had truly touched her. Like she had truly died, just in front of him. Her hair tangled on the ground while he had desperately searched for a pulse. Oil was dripping from the car, turning the before white snow into a mixture of red and black.

The horror was still creeping over Faustus’ skin, and his heartbeat was racing like never before. It felt like he was still trapped in hell, just this time it was only his mind. The images played out again and again in front of his eyes, not daring to stop. It was like a broken record.

Edward kneeling down in front of him finally ripped him away from the thoughts, forcing him to return to reality. He was really thankful for that, actually.

“Are you alright?” the other wanted to know, frowning with concern. His green eyes were clouding with worry. He had the same eyes as Zelda, Faustus has never noticed before.

Suddenly he remembered, what they were doing right now, what was at stake here. His wide eyes travelled to the body who was still lying next to him. “She’s not back”, Faustus was able to get out, shifting a little closer to her. His voice did not sound like his all, but much more rasped than he could remember.

Zelda’s eyes were closed, but her chest was rising steadily. He needed to remind himself that she was not dead yet. That he had not lost her.

“There’s not much time”, Edward said behind him. His tone was very cold. Like he needed to stop himself from falling into panic.

Faustus glanced over to the large clock they had positioned not far away from them. The hour was almost full, barely five minutes were left. Instantly he felt fear rise within him. In Satan’s name, why did Zelda have to go through with this madness anyway? It was all doomed from the start.

Again, Edward took the word. “If she doesn’t return until the clock strikes-” he never finished the sentence. It was very clear anyway.

Faustus took a deep breath. “I know what happens then”, he muttered, clenching his jaw while reaching for one of Zelda’s hands. Her skin was as cold as he had never felt it before. Like all life had been drained from it. It made him shiver.

Edward next to him shifted nervously, glancing back and forth between the ever moving hands of the clock and his sister.

“Come on Zelda”, Faustus whispered, more to himself than to her. “Don’t leave like this.” She couldn’t hear him, of course. The hand shifted closer to the twelve. Barely three minutes were left. His grip around her hand intensified. Like he would be able to hold on to her this way. Suddenly the thought of losing her was more prominent than anything else. He just wanted her to come back. The Dark Lord couldn’t be so cruel. “Why did you let her do this?” he asked Edward, this time louder. With more anger.

The other huffed slightly. “Like she would ever listen to me.” When he ran a hand through his hair his fingers were shaking.

Suddenly Faustus felt like he had not done enough. He should have stopped her, changed her mind. Surely he would have found a way. He let his fingers run through her hair. Now it was too late. It had taken him much too long to realize that he could not live without her anymore.

Edward pressed his lips together, eyes sealed to the clock. Two more minutes.

“I just saw her die”, Faustus said, out of nowhere. He was not even sure why he said those words suddenly. Gently he let his fingers caress her cheek.

The other warlock frowned. “What?”

He sighed. “When I was in hell. I saw her die.” The memory still hurt. Especially since the same thing was about to happen all over again. Just this time it would be real.

Edward raised an eyebrow. “Your biggest fear is my sister dying?” He hesitated for a brief moment. “I suppose you really love her then.”

Under normal circumstances Faustus would have been offended that he would even question that, still after all those years, but he was much too worried to even think about it right now. Merely sixty seconds were left and Zelda still was not moving. Against the snow, her skin seemed even paler than usual. “We have to do something”, he muttered, looking over to Edward. There had to be a way they could help her.

But the other shook his head. “She needs to do it alone. We can’t do anything for her.” Edward’s voice sounded like he was on the verge of tearing up.

Faustus had never felt so useless in his life before. How could he just sit here, and do nothing? It was worse than anything he had ever felt before.

The hand of the clock shifted to the twelve, and the hour was over. Somewhere in Greendale the bells of a church were ringing.

Around her, the darkness had vanished. Only a second ago she had stood in eternal nothingness, feeling like she had fallen thousands of metres although probably never having even moved an inch of her body. Merely her spirit had.

By now she was standing in a house, more specifically the Spellman house. She would recognize it anywhere, with its dark wood and the huge staircase which led to the upper floors. But it looked different in a way too. The frames on the walls were others, mostly showing pictures of a couple who was all too familiar to her but still seemed oddly foreign in a way. _Her parents._

Suddenly someone ran past her, a little girl with two blonde pigtails wiggling at each side. She was wearing a light blue dress, running away from someone who was chasing her and hiding away in the kitchen. It took Zelda a moment to recognize that it was indeed her sister. She had forgotten how sweet Hilda had once looked.

The next moment her brother stepped into the room, looking as young as she could remember him. His glasses were still too big for his face and his hair was messy and tangled. He looked at her, but did not seem to notice her. Like his gaze was shifting through her, an invisible being in a house which not yet belonged to her. Then he followed Hilda into the kitchen, laughter echoing through the walls.

Actually Zelda had no idea why she was here. Why had she gone back in time? All she wanted was to go back, wake up in present time Greendale, wrap her arms around Faustus and pretend this never happened. But it was not easy like this. And she felt like she still had something to do here.

Very slowly she continued her walk through the hallway, outside into the yard. It felt like Astral Projection really, the feeling she had when walking, but without those annoying birds appearing every minute.

Suddenly she froze. A few yards away from her, on one of the light green wooden benches, a girl was sitting. And that girl was herself at sixteen. Her hair was perfectly curled and light blonde, her lipstick colour tied in with her shirt and her skirt was just long enough to cover everything but still look sort of sexy at the same time. Her eyes were fixed on the book she was reading, but Zelda could hardly read its title.

She wasn’t certain if this was something which had happened before, a flashback to the past, or something else entirely. It was much too confusing.

Just in this moment the girl – or better phrased her 16-year-old self – raised her head. Her eyes seemed to pierce through Zelda, examining the spot of air where she was currently standing. For a second she feared she might have seen herself, but then the girl just frowned and looked away.

Zelda stood there for a while, not quite knowing what to do. She feared too much time might pass, that she would end up being stuck here forever, but at the same time she did not feel like her visit here was done. This was not hell yet, nothing had happened. It was all much too quiet.

Barely a second after she finished the thought the gate behind her was opened, and when she turned around to see who came into the yard she recognized her father. And suddenly, she knew exactly why she was here. Which point in her life this was. Instantly she felt the strong wish to leave, to physically pull herself out of here. But it didn’t work. It was like a barrier had been set up between here and her body, the other realm. She was unable to return.

By now her father had reached young Zelda on the bench, taking the book from her and throwing it onto the ground. “ _What are you doing again?”_ he demanded to know, yelling. She could still remember the scene like it had been yesterday.

The young girl crossed her arms. “Nothing”, she snapped back, and Zelda knew how much she had tried to look fearless that day. How much it had cost her. Why did she have to relive this day? Out of all days?

Her father was furious by now. His words echoed through the entire yard. Still she was wondering how her brother had not heard all the screaming. Or maybe he had, and just not dared to come and look. Who could blame him, really.

“You’re a disgrace to this family”, her father hissed, and she knew very well that he meant every word. Also those were the same words Edward had said to her before, so perhaps there was some truth to them after all. “We should have sent you away a long time ago!”

The young girls eyes widened, and Zelda felt a pain in her heart. This was it, the crucial moment. It was even worse because she knew what was to come.

The man grinned wickedly. “Maybe Europe will be able to teach you some manners. And a way to behave yourself.” He huffed. “And you will stop running around like a slut.” He vaguely gestured in direction of her skirt.

It was not the first time he had told her such things, but the first time he had truly went through with it and sent her away. Without ever saying goodbye. This had been the last conversation with her father she had ever had.

The girl stared at him still, slowly shaking her head. “I don’t want to leave, please don’t send me away”, she whispered. She didn’t want to be all alone in the world, without her brother or sister or anyone she knew. Back then it had been a terrifying thought.

“I don’t care what you want!” her father hissed back, reaching for her wrist and almost violently pulling her closer. Afterwards she had had bruises, she still remembered hiding them from her European professors. Not the first time she had needed to do that.

Zelda felt like being suffocated, being forced to watch and not able to interfere or change the outcome.

Suddenly, she remembered why she was even here. Was it too late already? She needed to leave, this had occupied enough of her time already. Again she concentrated on leaving, trying to break free from the boundary which seemed to bind her to this place. Once again, nothing. Slowly she began to panic. _Why wasn’t it working?_ She knew she could do this, she had to.

In the meantime her father had let go of the young girl, pushing her away with such force that she stumbled against the bench. Then he stormed inside without another word.

All she wished for was that she could have intervened, told him how she felt for a change. Because she had never done that back then. Above all, she was angry. At him, at herself, at everything.

And just when she felt this anger rushing through her veins, the barrier broke. The scenery around her turned dark, like a shadow had come and consumed it all. Then she fell. For a long time.

With a gasp she shot up, opening her eyes before she had even realized that she was back. Her heart was racing, and she was trembling everywhere. Images were floating through her head, and when she looked up she was half expecting to see her father staring back at her. But it was only Edward.

Somewhere a church bell was ringing.

Before Zelda had even realized entirely that she had returned safe and sound, Faustus’ lips crashed onto hers. He kissed her with such intensity that she forgot to breath, forgot everything else but him for a matter of seconds.

Then he pulled back, still holding her face in his hands. “I thought I lost you”, he breathed against her lips, sounding so much more relieved than she had ever heard him.

Still, nothing made sense to her. She looked at him rather startled, trying to piece the puzzle together. “What?” she was able to respond.

Faustus pulled back a little, placing another kiss on top of her head. Then he let go of her entirely.

She glanced from him to Edward, then over to the giant clock. The hour was over. Just this second, the bells of the church died out. “Did I pass the test?” she asked into the new silence, suddenly not sure if she had even returned in the set time. It was all a big mess inside her head.

Her brother nodded slowly. “But you scared us quite a lot”, he added.

That explained her boyfriend’s attitude. He was still holding tight onto her hand, like she might run away any second.

Suddenly one of the Council men interrupted. “It is time for task seven.” He was almost smirking. “ _Divination._ ” Just another thing which might be deadly.

Zelda glanced over to Faustus, who was still eyeing her with concern. They were almost at the end. Slowly, she stood up. There was a certain dizziness inside her mind still, but she needed to concentrate now.

“Hey”, her brother held her back. “What did you see? In your hell.”

She bit her lip. “Father”, she replied vaguely. That was hardly something to elaborate on right now.

Edward furrowed his brows, but didn’t say anything else. Just nodded and smiled briefly, before turning his attention back to the men of the Council.

Zelda took a deep breath, trying to calm her heartbeat down. Next to her, Faustus looked as determined as ever. Had he been worried before, he didn’t show any of it anymore. Just cool ambition.

Because task seven was waiting, and there was no turning back now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think is gonna happen in task seven!<3


	20. Seven Wonders

Within a second, the yard changed. The snow which had covered the ground until a moment ago disappeared, and instead they were looking at a maze of dark green bushes, towering high into the sky. It was impossible to see how far it stretched out, or anything else for that matter since inside the maze a thick layer of fog had formed itself. One could hardly see anything but its entrance.

Faustus felt his heart quicken. There was a maze for each of them, but probably not identical. Or who knew, really. Who knew what awaited them within.

Instantly, he became worried. Not for himself of course, he had full confidence in his abilities, but for Zelda. She had no idea what she was doing, what she had gotten herself into.

“If any of you manage to reach the end of the maze”, the man from the Council smiled, especially in Faustus’ direction as he noticed, “you are the next High Priest.”

Next to him Zelda shifted nervously, eyes staring into the white fog. It was hard to tell what she was thinking. She always had that fearless attitude about herself.

Carefully he reached for her hand, turning her towards him. If this was the last chance he got… he didn’t even want to think about it. “You can still change your mind”, he whispered, pressing a light kiss to her cheek. He felt the eyes of the Council resting on them.

Zelda’s arms wrapped around his neck. “You wish”, she replied, a little smile on her lips.

Sometimes he wondered if she even knew what was at stake here. How could he ever survive without her? Rather hesitantly, he let go of her. He didn’t like this at all.

In a rather desperate attempt he glanced over to Edward, who was standing a few metres away with a face that basically said it all. He was pale as paper, staring at the maze like he was going to collapse any second. But who could blame him. Still he didn’t say anything. Zelda never listened to him anyway.

The Council man declared the task to begin, and a sound appeared. Now it was all or nothing.

Faustus waited until Zelda had stepped into the maze, following her every move until she disappeared within the cloud of fog. It was not until then that he entered his own, walking through it with a quick pace. He just wanted to get this over with. However this was the hardest task of all, mainly because they had zero clues what even awaited them. Divination was a widespread term, and could include almost everything. Finding your way through a maze was one thing, but he doubted that it would be this easy.

He had no idea for how long he just walked straight ahead, until suddenly the way was blocked. It was right or left now. Very slowly he kneeled onto the ground, letting his hands rest on the earth. He closed his eyes, trying to see the path which he needed to choose in front of his eyes. _Nothing._

His heartbeat quickened. Maybe this was the wrong strategy entirely. He stood up, touching the wall of leaves in front of him. Again, nothing. No indication which path would be the right one. By now it was a bit worrisome.

But he refused to think too much about it, refuse to let himself believe that this could be him losing. That was simply not possible. He was the next High Priest, there were no doubts about that.

He tried another spell, speaking an incantation which was supposed to reveal the way one must take. It didn’t work either. Slowly he was out of ideas. Several other spells all failed, resulting in that he had no idea where to go.

Just because he could not take to stand there any longer, he chose to go right. Going back was not an alternative, not just like this. He could still win.

It was barely ten seconds until he stood at the next crossing, now with three possible ways to go. This all felt wrong. It felt like the fog was becoming thicker now, he was barely able to see further than a meter.

Faustus sighed, running a hand through his hair. Out of desperation he turned around, walking back to where he had just come. Maybe the left way had been right after all. But the longer he walked the more he realized that the crossing he had previously stood at was gone, and that the way only stretched straight ahead. Panic rose within him, and he stopped walking. Somewhere leaves were rasping. Was this Zelda walking within her maze? He could never be sure.

Faustus should have known that the maze was changing, truly. No one was supposed to come out of here alive. He stopped at another crossing, again trying several spells as well as touching ground and walls so that the path would be revealed to him.

And with horror, and even shame, he realized that after all he might not be the High Priest of the Church of Night. He was failing this task. None of the divination spells were working, it was like running blindly against a wall. _How could the Dark Lord do this to him?_

He was not Satan’s chosen one. The realization cut deep. It took him a second before he was able to continue walking.

This probably also meant that he would die in here. And so would Zelda. If his spells failed, so would hers. There was no way she could succeed if he didn’t. He was so sure of that. His magic was definitely stronger, always had been. But for once that did not make him happy at all. Only more upset.

He took the left path, since it was the direction he remembered the exit to be. But he doubted that there was an easy way out of this.

As expected the way ended in a dead end, just a plain wall of leaves stretching up into the sky. Here the fog seemed to be a little lighter. Maybe a good sign. All he wanted was to get out of here, rescue Zelda, and then hide away somewhere in shame for the rest of his life.

Faustus concentrated on the wall in front of him, speaking a spell which he remembered from some time ago and prayed to Satan it would work. Surprisingly it did, and the wall opened up in front of him. If only the divination spells would have had the same outcome… he stepped out of the maze, back onto the snowy grounds of the Academy.

Immediately, the men of the Council turned around to face him. The blonde stepped forward. “Mr Blackwood.” His voice sounded rather shocked. He had expected him to succeed, naturally. “The test ends here”, he spoke very dryly.

Edward was already on his way to him, eyes widened. “What are you doing?” he demanded to know, hectically glancing over to Zelda’s maze.

Faustus felt his heart growing heavy. He had hoped she might be back as well. “I couldn’t do it”, he replied, attempting to keep a steady voice. It hurt to admit his own failure so blatantly. “None of the divination spells worked.”

Just in this second, a scream disrupted the silence. Faustus knew immediately whose it was. A shiver ran down his spine. _This could not be happening._

Edward’s face was pure horror, but he never said a word.

The men of the Council all looked perfectly neutral, silently scratching notes onto the papers they carried around. It was a gruesome scene.

“We have to do something!” Faustus insisted, looking nervously over to Zelda’s maze. How could he just stand by and watch her get hurt? Or worse, killed.

Edward shook his head. “We can’t. The rules-” he took a deep breath. “Interference is forbidden. You know that as well as Zelda did.”   
How could he be so calm? Faustus wondered if it was all just an act. “I won’t let die”, he replied, shaking his head persistently. His hands were shaking. All he had ever wanted was for her to be safe. And he refused to stand by and watch.

Again, Edward disagreed. “She won’t”, he answered, but it was hardly convincing. “You might be underestimating her.”

Those were unusual words from Edward, since he had always been the one to tell Zelda how crazy her ambitions were and what trouble she was bringing upon herself. “You don’t think she might actually win”, Faustus replied with a frown. A woman could not be High Priestess, that was wishful thinking at the very least.

They both shrieked when another scream echoed through the air. This time with even more panic.

Edward clenched his jaw, like he was trying really hard to pull himself together. “Who knows”, he answered, voice so quiet it was barely audible. The whole situation was tearing at his nerves too.

But Faustus had enough. This was too much. He was half on his way towards the maze when Edward held him back, almost pushing him away. “I need to help her!” Faustus insisted.

The other sighed. Edward’s eyes were just as sad as his own. “Don’t you think I want that too?” He cleared his throat. “It was her decision, and she will suffer the consequences. And so will we.” It sounded terribly final.

Faustus backed away, the Counsil watching his every move. They would never let him enter anyway. It had been a desperate move from his end. Suddenly he felt very guilty. He had wished for himself to be High Priest, and Zelda to fail. _But not like this._ This was not fair. He had already lost his dream today, he could not lose her too. That was too much.

 _Satan, what are you thinking?_ The Dark Lord gave no answer, of course.

The moment Zelda stepped into the maze, she felt fear clench onto her heart like never before. What was she even doing here? Faustus’ gaze was burning holes into her back, she could feel it resting on her just until she disappeared in the fog.

The path stretched straight ahead at first, and she walked slowly and carefully. Who knew what was in here. After some time she arrived at the first crossing, hesitating what to do. Very slowly, she knelt down onto the ground. The mud felt cold beneath her when she let the palms of her heads rest on the earth, closing her eyes. _Right._ Suddenly it was very clear in her mind, like someone had just whispered the solution into her ear.

Her heart fluttered with excitement when she stood up and took the right path, quickening her pace. She just wanted to get this over with.

Around her the fog grew thicker, leaving little tears of water on her skin. She was awfully cold out of a sudden, although there was no wind or anything of the sorts. Just pure coldness.

Zelda knelt down at the next crossing, choosing the left path after waiting a few seconds. Apparently her divination spells were working. But did that mean she was indeed the next High Priestess? Somehow she could not believe that just yet.

Suddenly something behind her cracked. She froze at the spot, slowly turning around. But obviously she saw nothing, only white fog clouding her view. Then another crack, leaves falling, sticks breaking. Like something was moving. Without ever making a sound, she took a few steps backwards.

In her head she recited an incantation, some she remembered having read somewhere once. She prayed to Satan that it might work. And indeed, the fog lightened. That made everything a little easier.

Still, she couldn’t see anything. The path in front of her was utterly empty. Everything was silent for a second. Zelda hardly dared to breathe.

Carefully she turned around again, choosing the left path at the next crossing, out of intuition more than anything. She just wanted to get out of here.

But she had barely walked a few steps when there was another sound, like something moved closer through the barrier of leaves around her. A shiver ran down her spine. The fog was back, and it was hard to see where she was going.

Then out of a sudden, there was a growl. Zelda froze, not moving for a split second. It took all of her self control to turn around, although she knew that she would not be able to see anything anyway. Silently she recited the incantation once more, watching the fog grow lighter.

Zelda drew in a sharp breath when the view was clear enough to see what was standing away a few meters away from here. It was much likely a demon, one with two black horns and smoke rising out of its nostrils. The appearance was rather terrifying, and for a second she felt too intimidated to even react.

 _What was a demon doing here?_ She felt her racing heartbeat, slowly taking a few steps backwards. It was not until then she realized that this was a dead end. But she had been so sure this was the right way… her mind was clouded with confusion, and fear above all. Dying from a demon attack was not on her to do list actually.

The creature moved closer, panting heavily. Its glowing red eyes seemed to burn holes into her skin. It was truly terrifying.

Zelda tried reciting a simple banishing curse, but nothing happened. Her panic rose, realizing that she was indeed trapped. Carefully she pressed her back against the wall of leaves behind her, feeling them dig into her skin.

She decided to change strategy then. “What do you want, demon?” she spoke into the silence, voice shaking audibly. Maybe she could distract him for a while, gain more time to think.

The demon stopped walking towards her, letting out a sound which sounded almost like rasping laughter. “You will die today, little witch”, it sneered, continuing its path in her direction.

Zelda actually had zero ideas what to do, so she just decided to go with offence. She whispered a few words, and barely a second later flames shot into the air just in front of the creature. It growled and jumped backwards, the fire crackling as the bushes to both sides caught fire.

Just in this second, the wall behind her disappeared. Without questioning this too much, Zelda turned around and ran. Behind her the flames died, and the demon growled once more.

But she had just turned right at the next crossing, running deeper and deeper into the maze, when suddenly the creature appeared in front of her again. She was more surprised than anything, not able to stop herself from screaming for a second.

She turned around and meant to try the other path, but in the meantime it had closed. There was no escaping this. Another scream escaped her, more desperation than anything. _This was not how it was supposed to end._

Still, Zelda was out of ideas. The fire had been her only shot. Why couldn't something work out for once? No one had warned her there was going to be a demon attack... divination sounded far more safe and easy than this.   
  
But just as she was thinking this, another thing popped into her head. Demons could not be killed by regular fire, no. They could only be killed by _hellfire._

Now this was not making things better really, since summoning hellfire was not something one just did, but it was the only thing she could think of. The demon was already moving closer, its rasped breaths filling the air.

Slowly Zelda spoke the Latin words of the spell, which she had read in a book she had stolen from Edward once. The words echoed through the air, and suddenly a wind was rising. She prayed to Satan that it would work, and she was getting out of here alive. 

Around her the leaves were rasping, and the demon’s eyes widened when a ring of blue flames encircled it. A roar escaped the creature when they crept over his body, and it sounded like he was screaming with pain. The sound cut through Zelda’s bones, making her shiver. Still she never looked away, watching the hellfire consume the demon and leaving nothing but a pile of smoke.

Then there was silence. It seemed to last an eternity. The only sound was her breathing.

The next moment the maze around her vanished, from one second to the other it was gone. Zelda stood in the middle of the Academy ground, snow up to her ankles. Everything happened so fast she had no idea what was going on.

She looked into the eyes of the blonde Council man, who dropped his pen into the snow since his fingers were shaking too much. He stared at her wide-eyed, not able to look away.

It was not until the other man from her hearing emerged and stepped forward, wearing a rather straight face. He cleared his throat. “We appear to have a new High Priestess.” His voice was perfectly neutral.   
  
Those were the words which changed everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll wrap this story up in about five more chapters i guess, but i hope you're all pleased with the outcome so far <3


	21. A little Wicked

At first Zelda could not even realize what had happened, her brain simply did not process the information. She stared at the man from the Council, but allowed her eyes to travel to her brother.

Edward’s face was a mixture of shock and surprise, and perhaps something which was close to envy. He seemed to be as frozen as her at first, but then quickly walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

The touch made her wake up from her trance, and she was able to let out the breath which she had not noticed she was holding. _She made it._ The realization came later than expected.

Her brother pressed a kiss to the top of her head, now visibly relieved. “I suppose you’re father’s heir after all”, he muttered quietly, even smiling a little. He might not have believed in her from the start – or at any point, for that matter – but he was at least trying to be happy for her.

Zelda looked over to the spot where Faustus had stood just seconds ago, only to notice that he had vanished. Immediately her heart sank a little. Although she had expected it, prepared herself for the worst case scenario. Still it hurt, there was no denying of that.

Her brother seemed to have noticed the sadness on her face, since he looked behind himself and then sighed. But he never said anything, just clenched his jaw and looked away. Like he didn’t want to speak the truth.

The blonde man interrupted them, clearing his throat. “My Lady”, he addressed her formally, although it was obvious how hard it was for him. His voice was tense. “It is time to go and have the ceremony.”   
  
She looked over to Edward for help, furrowing her brows. What sort of ceremony? She had to admit she was rather new with the topic of being High Priestess.

“They need to crown you to make it official”, her brother explained, noticing her confusion. “In a Satanic ritual.”

Zelda nodded. That sounded reasonable. “Let’s go then”, she replied, trying not to think about who was missing.

She would speak to Faustus later, alone. Her relationship drama had no place here at the moment. Suddenly she felt unsure. Why had she even become High Priestess? Was this some sort of plan from the Dark Lord? She bit her lip, following her brother towards the Academy building. This was all completely new to her, and she felt rather lost.

Edward seemed to have noticed, since he interrupted her by reaching for her wrist and holding her back. “Can we have a moment alone, please?”

Zelda frowned, but shrugged and nodded. She gestured the rest of the men to continue walking, pleased with how well they seemed to obey her commands. Maybe this could be fun after all. “What is it?” she asked her brother, wondering what might be so important that they needed to keep the ritual waiting.

Edward looked rather worried, to her surprise. “Faustus left”, was all he said.

That was quite the obvious thing to state. She sighed. “I noticed.” Did he think she had gone stupid? Of course her boyfriend would not stand by and watch her get crowned, she had never expected him too.

“Don’t you think you should talk to him?” her brother suggested.

Zelda huffed. “You care about my relationship now?” She was sounding rather defensive, without knowing why. But taking advice from her brother had never been a strength of hers. Especially not now, since she was indeed High Priestess. “I’ll talk to him later.” She would rather drag that out a little longer, but it needed to be done sooner or later.

Her brother frowned slightly. “Did he tell you what he saw down in hell?” His tone was very serious.

She was beginning to run out of patience, though. What was the sense of this conversation? “No, we didn’t really have time to chat”, she replied quite sarcastically, crossing her arms. By was she the bad guy now? Faustus was the one who disappeared without a word. She could have died in there, one might expect he would be happy to see her.

Again, Edward furrowed his brows. “He told me he saw you dying.” There was a slight pause. “That’s his greatest fear.”  
  
Her brother seemed trying to be a relationship expert at the moment, which was rather unusual. Still it was rather touching, and her heart hurt a little. She had not expected that at all. Suddenly she missed Faustus terribly, just wished to wrap her arms around him and press her lips onto his. But he was gone, and she was all alone. “Why are you telling me this?” she asked her brother, back on the defensive side.

He shrugged. “I just thought you should know.” His glance shifted over to the Academy. “We should go. Your crown awaits you.”

Zelda smiled weakly, following her brother towards the building. Who knew what might await her next.

Hours later Zelda was sitting in _her_ office, staring at a bunch of books and papers in front of her. The ritual had been long and rather boring, the men reciting passages from the Satanic bible for what seemed like ages and then placed a burning crown on top of her head.

After that they had informed her of her duties to the coven and the Academy of Unseen Arts, which included a teaching position. That was rather tricky though, since technically she was a student herself still. Therefore they had agreed she might not yet teach, but rather wait a few more years and then take on classes and seminars herself. This was a welcome plan for her, since it would only allow her to have more free time and read more books.

Slowly she stood up and walked through the room, letting her eyes travel over every piece of furniture. It still felt so unreal, even being her.

Years ago she had sat here and played while her father had attended his duties, and her mother had been too busy taking care of Hilda. She had sat on the wooden floor, toys in front of her, and watched her father sitting behind this very desk grading papers. And now it was all hers. The Academy, the entire Church of Night. It was unreal actually.

She was just standing in front of the huge bookshelf, when suddenly she felt a pair of eyes resting on her. It needed no spell to know who it was. Very slowly she turned around, giving her best attempt of a neutral expression. “You’re back”, she noticed, stepping a little closer.

Faustus looked around himself, like he was searching for something specific but never found it. Then his glance was back on her.

A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. Zelda was beginning to wonder why he had even come back.

Then suddenly he closed the distance between them, reaching for her face and kissing her with so much force that she nearly fell over. His lips caught hers, tongue finding her own and the familiar feeling of his skin against hers made her tremble. There was so much longing in the kiss, and it was more slow and passionate than anything else.

Zelda was out of breath when he pulled back, but only to grab her hips and sit her down on the edge of the desk. Then he moved closer again, beginning to spread kisses on her neck. His fingers were already opening her dress on her back.

It was very hard to concentrate with him nibbling at her skin, but she gave her best attempt. “We really need to talk”, she insisted, but it was hardly convincing.

The zip of her dress was all the way down by now, and his fingers left shivers on her spine. “Feel free to talk”, he whispered teasingly, lips pressed against hers again. His teeth bit down on her bottom lip.

Zelda hated herself for getting distracted this easily, but he just knew her weak spots too well. She could already feel his fingers under her dress, dancing over the inside of her thighs. “If you could stop distracting me”, she half gasped, trying very hard to control her breathing. This was not at all how she had imagined this conversation to turn out.

He smirked a little, pressing a kiss to the skin just below her earlobe. “Do you really want me to stop?” he breathed, pushing a finger inside of her.

Her nails dug into the skin of his neck, probably leaving quite the mark. She moaned a little, although pressing her lips together to avoid it. _Why was she so easy?_

Faustus seemed quite satisfied with her reaction, since a second finger joined the other. His teeth were still softly digging into the skin of her neck, making her entire body shiver.

Zelda tensed with each movement of him inside her, and she was beginning to think he was doing all of this just to avoid the talk she wanted to have. Another moan escaped her, suddenly wondering whether she should have cast a silencing spell. Or lock the door, for that matter. She could do without the Council or a student walking in on their new High Priestess being screwed on her desk.

He finished her off quite quickly, joining their lips again in an intense kiss while she clenched around him and almost ripped his shirt in the process. Zelda was gasping when they parted, leaning against him to steady herself. Her mind was still much to occupied with the passing orgasm, but she gave her best to gather her thoughts as quickly as possible.   
  
Faustus closed her dress again, letting his fingers rest in her hair and tucking some strands behind her ear. But he never said anything.

She was afraid he might leave again, before she had the chance to really say anything, which was why she tried to hold onto him by smoothing out the collar of his shirt. Her nails had done quite the job there, and it was stained with red lipstick.

Eventually he moved away, enabling her to slip down from the desk. The wood was beginning to get rather uncomfortable. “Can we talk now?” she tried again, straightening her dress and hoping she might look at least halfway presentable again.

He shrugged, looking almost unbothered. Zelda would have believed him, had he not just heavily tried to bribe her with sex. “Of course”, he replied.

She took a deep breath, leaning against the desk since she did not entirely trust her legs just yet. Where should she even start? He was being sort of distant, even now moving away from her. It was almost making her upset. “I’m sorry you didn’t succeed”, she eventually said, and she meant every word. She really was sorry.

Faustus huffed, turning away so he could avoid looking her in the eyes. But there was no answer.

Was he mad at her? There was no way she could tell. “But-” she began again, hoping to catch his attention. “I was hoping you could help me with some things.” She was trying really hard to avoid sounding like she was above him in any way, or she was the High Priestess and he just her servant. “That we could rule together”, she added quickly, to make it sound better.

His eyes met hers for a second, hesitantly at first. “In what way?” he followed up. His tone was not entirely convinced just yet.

Zelda bit her lip. “We could share duties. You could do Black mass sometimes, take more classes…” She had no idea what else there was to do, really. Being High Priestess was really new to her. But she didn’t want to do this alone.

There was a moment of silence, before he nodded slowly. “As you wish.”   
  
That was not the level of enthusiasm she had hoped for, but better than nothing. Still she couldn’t shake the feeling of sadness off, since he was still standing as far away as possible. What was happening? Just a few minutes ago he had kissed her like his life depended on it.   
  
Suddenly she felt like tearing up, already feeling her eyes watering. This day was much too stressful for anyone to handle. Besides the demon attack and the trip to hell were still very present in her mind. 

Faustus was eyeing her concerned, having noticed her change of attitude. He even stepped a little closer. “What’s wrong?” he asked carefully, as the first tears ran down her cheeks.

Zelda frankly had no idea what was happening, in any aspect of her life, just that she was largely confused. And his whole attitude was not making it any easier for her. She attempted to wipe the tears away, not wanting to fall apart in front of him. “Can you just”, she began, but her voice was giving up half way through the sentence. “I don’t know, hug me?” she tried again, although feeling terribly weak.

He sighed, nodding slowly and taking her into his arms. His hands stroke through her hair while she rested her head on his chest and immediately felt better, even closing her eyes for a second. The tears finally stopped running, and she felt a little less horrible. Crying really was a no go for her.

Faustus placed a kiss on her forehead, softly caressing her cheek. Carefully he wiped the rest of her tears away. “I love you”, he said very quietly, like he knew that was what she needed to hear right now. “So much more than you know.”

Zelda nodded, pressing her lips together to avoid having to sob anymore. Sometimes she found it hard to believe he was telling the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kinda short i'm sorry but i wanted to get it up today! i probably won't post tomorrow since it's christmas but i'll give my best to post the day after <3


	22. Atomic

Although Zelda and Faustus was officially reconciled, they spent the next two weeks rather distant. Zelda gave her best to manage being High Priestess as well as she could, although there were some incidents of exploding candles or shattered windows when she had not been careful and let her spellcasting go too far. She could feel her powers rise with each day, strength drawn directly from the Dark Lord.

Then again she could feel herself drifting away from Faustus, who was everything but happy about the new situation. Although she had really tried, letting him run Black Mass and more classes and consulting him about decisions she needed to make. But it all did nothing, and she felt more and more like he was falling out of love with her.

She spent most nights alone sitting in her office, staring into the darkness and wondering where she had gone wrong. Sometimes Edward would come and get her home, but she wouldn’t get much sleep either. Nightmares were a frequent visitor of hers, and she often dreamt about her father or a demon attack or both.

She had no idea if Faustus even knew about that, since whenever she suggested either one might sleep over, he had a new excuse. By now she was half expecting him to have someone else, but when she had asked the Dark Lord about it he had gone silent and not revealed anything to her. Which told her enough of that matter, anyway.

It was a busy morning when Zelda returned from her morning session of Black Mass to her office, already quite annoyed due to a severe lack of sleep, and let the door fall shut behind her a tiny bit too loud.

“Rough morning?” a voice asked, and she looked up. Faustus was standing next to her book shelf, arms crossed and smirking like nothing had happened. Although there was something different about him, something about the way he was looking at her.

Zelda refused to answer, simply acting like she had not heard the question.

He frowned in response. “So you don’t talk to me anymore?” Indeed he managed to sound entirely surprised.

“You don’t talk to me either”, she replied dryly, leaning against her desk. This was most definitely not her fault. He was behaving like an idiot right now.

Faustus raised a brow at her, stepping a little closer. His eyes were resting on her. “If you’re mad at me, could you at least tell me why?”

Zelda was seriously wondering whether he had gone stupid or was just acting like nothing had happened to make her feel even worse. Both seemed equally great of a possibility. He could not really be thinking that everything was fine between them, since he had made sure it wasn’t all by himself.

Again she failed to deliver an answer, so he tried again. “What’s wrong?” he wanted to know, furrowing his brows.

She pressed her lips together, hesitating to speak the words just yet. Although it was quite the obvious thing. “Do you have someone else?” Her voice sounded much more bitter than intended.

Actually Faustus really looked surprised for a moment, genuinely seeming like this question had hit him out of the blue. He remained silent for a moment. “Why would you think that?” he asked eventually, running a hand through his messy hair.

Zelda crossed her arms. “It’s quite obvious.” That was all she wanted to say on the matter. Could he not just admit it? She just wanted to know, be sure of it. “Also I shouldn’t be too surprised that you would start sleeping around eventually”, she added, trying to sound as unbothered as possible. Still she failed. He knew how much she cared, anyway.

But he never denied it. “It didn’t mean anything.” His tone was very serious. “And a one time thing.”   
  
That was hard to believe. Zelda didn’t reply, just staring at the floor in front of her. Of course she had been the one who had asked, but actually hearing it had been harder than expected. Witches did not really respond well to the concept of monogamy, sure, but after all she had managed just fine too.

Besides this hurt her pride more than anything else, even more than her heart which was severely suffering under this too. But she had always thought of herself as someone who would not be cheated on. “What’s her name?” she asked into the silence, managing to sound entirely neutral.

Faustus frowned. “I have no idea, actually.” He sighed. “Besides I don’t think it would be very fortunate if you killed her, you know.”

She had to admit he knew her rather well, looking through the innocent question immediately. It would have made things a lot easier if she could have just ripped that other witch’s throat out and be done with it. Then again it was sufficient to know he didn’t remember the name. At least it had no deeper meaning then.

“It didn’t mean anything”, he ensured her again, but it sounded hardly like he was actually making an effort.

By now this careless attitude was really starting to make her mad. “Then why even do it?” she snapped back, much less calm then she would have liked to be.

He sighed, almost like he was annoyed with her. “I didn’t think you would mind this much, actually.” Of course what he really meant was that he had hoped she would never know.   
  
Suddenly Zelda wondered if this had been the first time. She doubted it honestly, since he didn’t appear to see a problem with it. “If that’s the case, you might as well leave now”, she replied, although she didn’t really mean it. The last thing she wanted was for him to leave again.

Faustus eyed her for a moment, like he was trying to determine whether she was serious or not. “Zelda”, he began, trying to catch her attention again. “What’s really wrong?”   
  
She was actually really stunned that he had the decency to ask this. After all it was his fault. She refused to take the blame for this, although there was a tiny part of her which said that it might have been partly her too. But she ignored that for now. “You’re really asking that...” she muttered, shaking her head a little.

“Yes, I am.” His tone was on the verge of sounding angry. “If you could just talk to me _for once._ ”

Zelda huffed. “I am the one who is not talking? Funny, I thought that was you”, she hissed back. “You have been ignoring me for _weeks._ I haven’t even properly seen you in three days!” It was impossible to control her temper by now. He wouldn’t get to just make this all about himself.

For a few seconds he just stared at her, eyes sparkling with anger. But there was something cold about him, the way his glance was resting on her. A certain calmness even. “Do you think this is easy for me?” he eventually took the word. “Do you think it is easy for me to watch you being High Priestess, just because I failed the test?”

It sounded so accusing that Zelda felt a lot more hurt than she would have normally. How was this her fault? The Dark Lord had chosen, neither one of them. And she had not forced him to stay around. “You’re free to leave”, she replied, although she regretted it the moment she had spoken the words. How could she do any of this without him?

Slowly he shook his head. “I wanted to. The moment you came back from the maze, I wanted to disappear.” There was a short pause. The room was so silent one would hear a needle dropping. “But I couldn’t.”

Zelda pressed her lips together, trying to keep a neutral expression. Crying was the last thing she needed right now.

“Do you even know what I felt during that test?” he continued, sounding more and more enraged. “I thought you were _dead,_ twice.” Again he was pausing, like to regain control over his voice. “The only thing worse for me than not being High Priest would be losing you.”

She looked up and met his eyes, rather startled. This was a surprisingly honest confession. Zelda opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. What was there to say anyway?

Faustus cleared his throat. “But whenever I look at you, I’m reminded of my failure. And I can’t do that right now.” It sounded terribly final.

She was just on the verge to respond, although her brain had not quite caught up with the information just yet, but he had teleported away already. Suddenly she was all alone, standing in the empty office. _Had he just broken up with her?_ She wasn’t sure. It had been quite the confusing conversation.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Zelda gave her best to wipe the tears from her eyes, walking around her desk to sit down. “Come in”, she said loudly, attempting to keep a steady voice.

To her despair her brother entered the room, carrying some books and papers with him. He was quite happy with his new role of teacher, especially since he had more time to spend with Diana.

Still, she wasn’t sure what he could want from her right now. She sighed, trying to pull herself together.

Of course he noticed anyway. “What happened?” Edward asked instantly, putting his books down on her desk while eyeing her suspiciously.

She brushed it off quickly. “Nothing”, she ensured him. “Just stress.” Her overly caring brother was not what she needed at the moment.  
  
Naturally he didn’t believe her, it sounded hardly convincing even in her own ears, but he didn’t ask anymore. Instead he came straight to the point. “I’ve been meaning to discuss something with you.”

Now that was just perfect timing. “Edward I’m really not in the mood-”, she began, but was interrupted.

“Please, Zee, just listen to me for a moment”, he insisted.

Zelda sighed, leaning back in her chair. This was bound to be a catastrophe. “Fine”, she muttered. Edward wouldn’t leave anyway before he got what he wanted.

Her brother smiled victoriously, clearing his throat. “So I was wondering, since you’re High Priestess you are in charge of the marriage ceremonies...”

In that moment she knew what he was going to ask. _Please don’t say it._

“I want to marry Diana. Properly, in front of the Dark Lord.”

Zelda stared at her brother in disbelief. He could not be serious. “Edward”, she gasped, shaking her head. “That’s impossible. She’s _mortal._ ” This did not help to lighten her mood at all. Her brother could not seriously be this stupid.

But Edward only furrowed his brows. “So? We are no different to mortals!”

She sighed, wondering who of them was the more responsible one again. Besides there were more differences between witches and mortals than she could count. “The Dark Lord would never agree”, she began, but was interrupted yet again.

“You haven’t even tried!” her brother urged. 

Slowly she was running out of patience. Her relationship falling apart was enough stress alone, she didn’t need to deal with this as well right now. Again she shook her head.

Still Edward would not give up. “I’m your brother, Zee, come on!” His eyes were begging her to agree.

But how would anyone ever take her seriously again if she let her brother marry a mortal? She could not just run around handing out favours. Half of the warlocks in this coven didn’t trust her anyway because she was a woman, she couldn’t sympathize with mortals now. That would ruin her credibility entirely, and she was not here for that.

Marrying the woman in secret had been a mistake already, but doing it in front of the Dark Lord himself would be the cherry on top. “You’re already married, why the fuss?” she wanted to know, because some part of her was beginning to sense that there was something else he was not telling her.

Edward clenched his jaw. “We want to have a baby.”   
  
Those words hit Zelda unexpectedly, and her jaw dropped for a hot second. “What?” she blurted out. For the love of Lucifer, that was about the worst idea her brother had ever had. “Crossbreeding is forbidden-”

“In Satan’s name, Zee”, Edward exclaimed. “We’re not animals, breeding is hardly the fit term!”

She took a deep breath, like to calm herself down. Her day was steadily getting worse and worse. He could not seriously expect her to agree to any of this madness…

Her brother sighed. “I love Diana.” Like that would make any difference. “I thought you might understand that.”

Those words hit her right where he had planned, and for a second she needed all her self control to stop herself from bursting into tears right at the spot. With the sole purpose of fleeing this conversation, she nodded. “I’ll give my best”, she answered only half genuine, although feeling like she was slowly digging her own grave.

Edward on the other hand was delighted, thanking her a few times until she practically threw him out of her office.

The door fell shut behind him, and Zelda sank back in her chair and buried her face in her hands. She had no energy to cry, and although her eyes were burning no tears came. That did not make her feel any less miserable, though. And the person to blame for this disaster was definitely Faustus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the wait but here it is yaay <3 let me know what you think!


	23. No Other

Zelda woke up from sleep around the witching hour, breathing heavily and mind all over the place. This particular nightmare was a recurring one, almost every night she found herself in the maze again. And it felt so real every time.

Quickly she made the lights turn on, reaching for a cigarette and taking a long drag. But even the smoke in her lungs did not make things any better, and so she sat there for a while and stared at the wall in front of her, while the ash crumbled onto her bedding and left black stains. In these moments she always wished she wouldn’t be so alone, but especially today the fight with Faustus earlier weighted heavily on her.

Just out of a hunch she slipped out of the bed, putting out the cigarette in her ashtray and teleporting into his kitchen. It was probably a naive idea, born from her own fear of falling asleep alone only to find herself in the maze again, but she had no other idea what to do.

As expected his kitchen was empty, and for a bare second she was scared he might have another woman over. _Maybe she should have_ _announced herself._

Carefully she walked through the silent and dark house, making her way to his library. She knew this was where he would be – if he even was home – and the door was surprisingly open. Faustus was sitting behind his desk, and she was more relieved than she would have expected to be to see he was alone, just reading a book.

His gaze seemed so absorbed in the pages that he did not even notice her, only looking up when she knocked on the wood of the door frame to get his attention.

He looked quite surprised to see her, frowning for a second before closing the book and putting it down on the desk. But the frown was perhaps due to her appearance, since she had turned up with messy hair and in her nightgown, without even bothering to change anything.

Zelda leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed and lips pressed together. She was not even sure why she had come here, in Satan’s name, why did she never think something through to the end? Now she was here, standing in his office in the middle of the night looking she had just slain a demon. Suddenly she was very tired.

To her surprise he stood up and came over, stopping in front of her.

She was trying very hard not to look him in the eyes, not willing to give up her last defence. After all she had been the one to make the first step, now it was his turn.

Faustus seemed to sense that since he sighed silently, lifting her chin a little and forcing her to look at him. “I’m sorry”, he said very quietly. It was barely more than a whisper. The house was utterly silent apart from the two of them. “I really am. I never meant to hurt you.” It sounded genuine.

Zelda just nodded, although the topic was still bugging her greatly. All those years she had deliberately ignored it, but now that it was out she wanted to know every little detail. Although that would probably just make it harder for her.

He leaned forward to place his lips on hers, pressing her body tighter against the door while kissing her. One of his hands was playing with her hair, tucking some strands behind her ear.

“What happened?” he wanted to know when they broke apart.

She shrugged. “Just a nightmare.” That was a topic she did not care to elaborate on. Besides he would have known if he had spent some time with her recently.

Faustus pressed another kiss to her temple. “You’re still mad”, he noticed.

What did he expect? One apology and everything was fine? Definitely not. Zelda didn’t answer, just stared at the floor in front of her. This was hardly the time and place to discuss the whole matter, and she was much too tired to do so anyway.

Without another word he wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up from the floor and teleporting upstairs. In his bedroom he sat her down on the bed.

She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to seem like she had yet forgiven him. Because she hadn’t. Actually she was still as mad as before.

“Lay down”, he told her, gently reaching for her hand.

Carefully she slipped under the sheets, but remained seated. She was not going to make it that easy for him. He was not supposed to get the idea that cheating on her was an okay thing to do in this relationship, definitely not.

Faustus sighed, eyeing her for a moment. “My heart is yours, Zelda. Always will be. You know that.”

She bit her lip, not able to look him in the eye. Of course she knew, but this certain jealousy was still there. She couldn’t help it. Besides she was always fearing that one day, he might find someone better and fall out of love with her. It was an insecurity she was always carrying around.

When she didn’t answer Faustus shifted a little closer, taking her face into his hands. “I love you more than anything else.” He was really trying by now.

Their eyes met when she looked up, and for a second she was really struggling with herself. His lips were too close to hers to think properly. “Fine”, she muttered eventually, although it sounded more like a compromise than a genuine agreement.

He did not look entirely happy either, although she lied down now and even let him wrap his arms around her. Lightly he pressed a kiss to her neck, letting his fingers run through her hair.

But there was something which was bothering her, but she was hesitant to speak it out loud. The answer might hurt too much. “How many?” she asked eventually, rolling onto her stomach and resting her arms on his chest to be able to look at him.

Faustus sighed. “Zelda”, he began, but she insisted.

“I mean it”, she replied, eyeing him carefully to examine whether he might be lying or not. “ _How many?”_ she repeated. It was a simple question really.

He really looked uncomfortable by now, dragging the moment out as long as possible. “Three or four”, he eventually said. “Maybe five.”

This number hurt even more than she would have expected, and at first she was really struggling to keep a neutral expression. She didn’t want him to see how much she cared. Although they had been together for over ten years now, so maybe that wasn’t even that bad of a number. Then again he might be lying, who knew. She bit her bottom lip, debating how to react.

He pulled her body a little closer to his, letting his fingers run over her back. His eyes were watching her very closely. “It didn’t mean anything”, he told her again.

Suddenly Zelda knew how to address this best. She nodded. “Well then, there is not harm if I start to see other people too, is there?” She could barely help the grin which crept onto her face. “If it doesn’t mean anything”, she added.

His grip around her hip intensified, and his entire body suddenly tensed. Immediately she could see the change in his expression. “You’re not serious”, he replied, staring at her like she had gone crazy. Jealousy was burning in his eyes.

This was exactly the reaction she had hoped for actually. She shrugged lightly. “Maybe I am.”

Faustus clenched his jaw. “That’s not the same thing”, he argued.

Zelda frowned. “Why not?” Just because she was a woman and he was a man? There was hardly any difference at all. If he could sleep around, so could she. “I’m sure there are lots of men in the coven who would gladly help to please her High Priestess”, she took it one step further, just knowing that this would send him over the edge.

Within a second he was on top of her, pressing her onto the mattress. His face was really close to hers. “I’m not really the type to share”, he breathed against her lips, pinning down her wrists next to her head on both sides.

Zelda huffed, although his touch made shivers run down her spine. “Neither am I, but you never asked me.” That was simply the truth.

His eyes were on her for another few seconds, then he let go of her wrists. But he never moved back, instead stayed as close as he was. “You know I love you, why does it matter who I sleep with?”

Zelda did not at all agree with this concept. “You know the same thing about me, but it still seems to matter to you”, she replied, trying not to get lost in the intense look he was giving her. This argument was not going to be resolved with sex, not this time.

“Do I know?” he asked back, letting his fingers run over her collarbone. “You’ve certainly never said it.”

For a second she felt a little called out, although it was only the truth. She hadn’t indeed, but it was quite clear anyway. Or so she had thought. But this was a topic she didn’t need to discuss right now. “If you stay monogamous, so will I”, she shrugged, smiling a little. She knew the answer already. "Otherwise I might start catching up with you and seeing other people." 

Faustus sighed. “Does it bother you so much?” There was no need for an answer, he knew anyway. And it bothered him a lot too, so much was obvious. “Fine”, he agreed. “Whatever you want.”

Zelda smiled victoriously, resting her hands on the back of his neck and pulling him down for a kiss. She had missed him, much more than she liked to admit, and tried to hold onto this moment for as long as possible.

“You always get what you want anyway”, he muttered when he pulled back, softly nibbling at the skin of her neck for another moment.

She let her hands run through his hair, quite content with how this conversation had turned out. “I suppose I do.”

This night she fell asleep in his arms, and it was the happiest she had been since stepping out of the maze.

A few mornings later Faustus was waking up in Zelda’s bed, the sun already peeking through the curtains. Her head was resting on his arm and he let her sink down into the pillows careful enough not to wake her. She had quite some problems sleeping at the moment, and he was happy she had even fallen asleep this night.

Slowly he slipped out of the bed, getting back into his pants and leaving the room without ever making a sound. He was hoping Zelda would not wake up and notice he was gone until he was back, but he doubted it. She must be tired enough to sleep for three days straight.

Downstairs in the kitchen he met Edward, who was sitting at the kitchen table and was reading a newspaper. In this moment he was really happy he had chosen to wear his pants. “Good morning”, Faustus greeted, pouring himself a glass of water in the sink.

The other warlock looked up, examining his outfit for a second. He looked everything but delighted. “You’re here”, he noticed.

Faustus frowned, taking a sip of water. That was hardly a surprise. “So?” he followed up, not quite knowing what Edward was implying here. He had been with Zelda for ten years, and had slept over more times than he could count.

Edward put down the paper. “If I’m honest I thought you might disappear the second she was crowned.” He raised an eyebrow. “But here you are.” It didn’t even sound unpleasantly surprised, just genuine.

That was a fact Faustus was confused about himself sometimes because before Zelda had won, he had liked to tell himself that if she should make it, it would be easy to just vanish and never return. And he had tried, really tried to leave it all behind. But it had been impossible.  
  
Actually he had come to the realization that living without her was simply not an option anymore. He shrugged in response to Edward. “I love her.”

The other’s green eyes examined him for a moment, before he nodded slowly. “If that is so, why isn’t there a ring on her finger by now?” He stood up from the table. “Ten years and no wedding? There has to be a reason.”

Faustus frowned, wondering where Edward’s concern suddenly came from. He had not expected that the other wanted him as a brother in law, or any part of the family for that matter. Besides he had never felt like Zelda wanted to marry, either. She always liked to steer away from the topic subtly whenever it came up. “Why do you care?” he wanted to know.

Edward shrugged. “I’m just questioning whether you’re really that serious about my sister or just pretending to be.” With those words he left the kitchen.

Actually this topic really got Faustus thinking.  
  
He went upstairs and slipped into bed again, Zelda still peacefully sleeping. Carefully he ran a hand through her hair, watching her sleep for a few minutes.  
  
If it had been his decision he would have asked her years ago, but all the trouble with the test had caused him to postpone it. Also he had always feared she might say no, after all she had never said the magic three words in all those years. Sometimes he wondered if it was her who was not serious about this relationship, not him. Sure he knew she loved him – or hoped, at the very least – but it would be nice to have her say it at some point.

They had never spoken about a marriage in all seriousness, but perhaps she didn’t even want to marry. Or not him, at least. Zelda stirred next to him, turning around and resting her head on his arm again. He pressed a light kiss to the top of her head, pulling her a little closer.

Maybe getting married was unimportant, after all. They had done fine without it all those years, why change that suddenly? Besides he knew Zelda well enough, and she was certainly not the type who liked commitment. Perhaps it was all good the way it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you think is going to happen next?? <3 btw, if you have any spellwood prompts (unrelated to this fic), my tumblr is zeldaspellmaan and send me an ask there!


	24. Freeze Time

Zelda had just sat down in her office, carrying a huge stack of books around with her all day since she needed to get stuff at the Academy done. Faustus had been supposed to do Black Mass for her this afternoon but never showed up, and so she had to do it herself. It was an unpleasant duty and boring all the same, but she simply had no choice if her boyfriend decided to just stay home today. Or where ever he was, for that matter. She had no idea actually, and no time to worry about it either.

Again there was a knock on her door, and she sighed heavily. “Come in”, she said, not quite unfriendly but also not delighted to see that someone, and leaned back in her chair.

Her brother came in, carrying some papers with him as he did so. The door fell shut behind him. “I came to speak about the changing of timetables I mentioned earlier”, he greeted, sitting down on one of the other two chairs the office offered.

Zelda frowned, not quite remembering what that particular talk had been about. “Great”, she replied nonetheless.

Time tables were the last thing she worried about, since she was quite busy with applications from new students, managing connections to other Academy’s outside the US and holding two Council meetings a week since those annoying men wanted to be kept informed on every small step she took.

Edward smiled pleasantly. “Well, I had the idea that we might add two weekly hours of Conjuring for third years. One simply is not enough to teach everything.” He reached for one of his papers, which was holding a copy of the current time table. “I suggest we add it to fourth period.”

She had a brief look at the paper. “French is in fourth period”, she disagreed. She knew the time table anyway, after all she was the one who constructed it. Quite the easy thing if one had magic at their aid. “I’ll see what I can do, Edward.” That was a clear invitation for him to leave her alone.

But as usual, he ignored the hint. “Have you looked into the matter of Diana’s and my marriage?” he wanted to know, mentioning it as casually as possible.

Zelda sighed, running a hand through her hair. Actually she had, had spent quite some time praying to the Dark Lord and hoping for his answer, but her brother would not like that answer at all. “It’s not possible”, she replied. “Witch law is very clear on the matter.”

Edward furrowed his brows. “You could make an exception!”  
  
Obviously he did not quite understand that she did not make these rules all by herself. They had long traditions, and she was no more than a servant to their Dark Lord. She was not truly the one in charge here. “I can’t”, Zelda responded. She cleared her throat. “But-”

Her brother suddenly looked hopeful again.

“The Dark Lord is willing to make a compromise.” If it really was one was to be doubted, though. And Diana would probably hate the idea. Still it was all Zelda had to offer. “You could consider the possibility of adopting a child of night.” Witches had orphanages too, and they sure would be able to find a sweet little baby to raise there.

Edward frowned. “I don’t think Diana would want her child to grow up as a witch.”

That was her problem, then. Zelda shrugged. “That’s all I have, Edward. Think about it.” This was the only way the Dark Lord would ever approve. Witch and mortal DNA was not to be mixed, and half breeds were certainly not allowed within the walls of the Academy. Zelda was hoping her brother was thinking this through properly.

Her brother nodded slowly, getting up from his chair. “Thank you Zee.” He hesitated for another moment. “Diana’s family is coming over for dinner later.”

That was an odd thing to mention out of the blue, but Zelda just shrugged. “Great”, she replied. A house full of mortals was just what she loved most. But she could not shake of the feeling that this was some sort of hint from her brother’s side. “Do you want me to get out of the house then?” she followed up, already suspecting this was why he had even brought it up.

Edward sighed. “They can’t know we are witches, and honestly you’re not very discreet.” He smirked a little. “I’m sure you are welcome at your boyfriend’s house.”

She huffed. That dinner was something she could do without, anyway. Her brother was already turning around to leave, when suddenly she remembered something else. “Edward”, she held him back.

“Yes?” He stopped in the door frame.

Zelda eyed him for a moment. “If you’re going to forge Hilda’s grade on every test from now on, please make sure it’s convincing.” She had checked the grade’s of every students a few times by now, and her sister had received excellent marks in every one of Edward’s classes, which meant he was without a doubt changing something in her tests. There was no way Hilda had all the marks in conjuring.

Edward chuckled a little, looking positively called out. “I didn’t think you would notice this quickly”, he admitted.

Obviously he was thinking she was either blind or totally stupid. Zelda rolled her eyes. “Don’t help her too much, please.” She had made sure Faustus was a little easier on her sister as well – demonology was everything but Hilda’s strength – but forging grades was a little too far. If someone found out there were bound to be problems.

Edward left the office with a last nod, closing the door behind himself.

It was about two hours later when Zelda was done with her work for the day, teleporting out of her office and into the yard in front of Faustus’ house. She had not yet told him she would come, since he had not been at the Academy all day, but she simply guessed it would be fine with him.

She knocked on the door as usual, but suddenly the door swung open by itself. Obviously he was too lazy to get up and open the door. Telekinesis could be so helpful sometimes. She closed the door behind her when she entered, walking through the empty hallway. The entire house was silent, not a single sound to be heard.

Faustus was in the living room, sitting on the sofa and staring into the empty air as it seemed. When she came in he stood up, for some reason looking almost nervous to see her.

Zelda frowned, standing in the middle of the room because she had no idea what else to do. Something was different today, although she wasn’t able to tell what it was exactly. But he was definitely behaving quite strangely. “Is something wrong?” she asked into the silence, since he had not said anything yet.

He cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair. “No”, he replied, a little too fast. “Why?”

It was obvious that he was lying. Zelda crossed her arms. “You weren’t at the Academy today”, she noted.

Faustus sighed. “I had something to prepare.”  
  
Now that sounded pretty ominous. She raised an eyebrow in suspicion. What was that supposed to mean anyway? Was he keeping secrets from her now?

He moved a little closer, suddenly reaching for her hands.

Zelda was properly confused, looking up into his eyes trying to read his expression. Why did he act so weird today? She was half expecting him to confess breaking their promise and admitting to cheating yet again, but what he said instead was something else entirely.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time”, he began, still never breaking their eye contact. “But if these past months showed me anything, then that I can’t live without you anymore.”  
  
It sounded utterly honest, and Zelda felt her heart flutter a little. Where was this coming from, out of a sudden? Did he suddenly want to start celebrating their anniversary and she had missed it? Did they even have an anniversary? She wasn’t sure. “Faustus, what-”, she began, but was interrupted.

He sounded pretty urgent. “Just let me finish.” One of his hands caressed her cheek. “You’re the most important thing in my life and I don’t ever want to spend a single day without you anymore.”

Suddenly she realized what this was. Or what it would turn out to be. Her heart began to race. This had been the moment she had feared, tried to drag out for as long as possible. Still she was hoping to be wrong, now staring at him with shock. Honestly she didn’t feel like giving an answer right now.

But of course she was right, and barely a second later he was kneeling in front of her. Zelda felt close to fainting when he pulled out a ring, the diamond sparkling in the dim light.

“Will you marry me?”

The words echoed through the silence of the house. She was sure if her heart would beat any faster he must be able to hear. Her throat was so dry that she feared no words might be able to come out. In her mind she went through every possible answer, never deciding which one to go with.

Finally she opened her mouth, daring to speak the words. Very slowly she nodded. “Yes.” It was barely audible, and for a moment she thought he might not even have understood.

But then his lips crashed onto hers, and for a second she forgot to breathe. His hands were in her hair, and his tongue almost battling with hers. Zelda pressed herself closer to him, nails scrapping over the skin of his neck and throat.

She was gasping when pulling away for a second. “Do you want me to wear the ring or not?” she asked, smiling a little as he began kissing down her neck. Her entire body was trembling under his touch, when he moved his hands down her back.

Faustus chuckled, now pulling away entirely. “I actually want you to wear nothing else _but_ the ring.”

That was a proposal she could hardly argue against, biting her lip while he slipped the ring onto her finger. She wasn’t even going to ask how he got her ring size right. For a moment she just watched it sparkle on her ring finger, while Faustus was already busy with opening the zip of her dress.

His fingertips danced over her spine, again pressing kisses to the skin of her neck. “Seems like I made a good choice with the ring”, he teased lightly, as her eyes were still captivated by the diamond.

Zelda just smiled, beginning to unbutton his shirt while joining their lips again. He freed her shoulders from the dress, letting it sink down to her hips. His touch on her skin made her shiver with excitement, almost ripping the fabric of the shirt when tearing it from him. She had not even noticed, but barely a second later they were in the upstairs bedroom.

He pushed her down onto the bed, finally getting rid of the dress entirely. Her body tensed when his lips moved over her neck downwards, softly biting into the skin there. She was wearing a lacy bra still, but his fingers were already at her back opening the clasp, and he was eagerly sucking at the skin of her breasts.

Then he pulled away for a moment, only to place a soft kiss on her lips. His fingers intertwined with hers, the hand where she was now wearing the ring. “You’re mine now”, he whispered against her lips, his hot breath on her skin making her shiver.

Zelda simply nodded, not able to quite hide the smile. When he kissed her again she found herself wishing that this moment might never end.

Later Faustus ran both of them a hot bath, carrying Zelda out of the bed and into the bathroom. They both slipped into the tub then, and she noticed with great content that he was barely able to take his hands off her. Already now he was pulling her into his lab, arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

“I was afraid you might say no”, he said quietly, letting his hands run through her already slightly damp hair.

Zelda frowned. “Why?” Not that she had not considered it for at least a split second, but she never _really_ would have said no. She loved him too much for that. Carefully she let her fingers run over his chest.

He shrugged. “We never talked about it, so I wasn’t sure if it was something you wanted.” His hands moved over her bare back, making her shiver with each touch. “Your brother brought up the topic, actually.”

She raised a brow at him, now genuinely surprised. Edward engaging in her relationship was usually hardly ever positive. “Really?” she replied, looking down at her ring once more. It was heavier than she might have imagined, but it was a comfortable feeling. Marriage had never been something she had craved or needed desperately, but suddenly she liked the idea quite a lot.

Faustus pulled her a little closer, so there was barely any skin left between their bodies. “I will have to thank him for that later”, he whispered, before kissing her again.

She smiled into the kiss, her heart fluttering a little. It was awfully cheesy to be honest, but at the same time she loved it.

Suddenly something came to her mind, something which had been bothering her for some time now. Slowly she pulled back, restoring the slightest of spaces between their faces. “ _I love you_.” The words blurted out before she even thought about it, before she had time to change her mind about this.

He looked at her with surprise for a moment, like he was wondering whether he might have misheard her. “Took you long enough to say it”, he eventually replied, pressing a light kiss onto her cheek.

Zelda huffed. “I was just waiting for you to ask me.” Something she obviously had to thank her brother for, which was quite the weird feeling all in itself.

Her boyfriend sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I suppose we both finally got it together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second to last chapter aah but i hope you like it <3 (also this isn't proofread i'll do that tomorrow i'm sorry!)


	25. Never Let me Go

Zelda looked at herself in the mirror, half anxious and half happy. Today was her wedding day, and she had just slipped into her dress. Hilda was still smoothing out its large skirt, tiptoeing around her just as nervously as Zelda felt. The dress itself was black – there was not really a tradition to wear white in witch culture – and almost entire see-through at the top with only the most important parts covered by black lace.

Hilda was done picking at the skirt, now just staring at her sister in awe. “You look so pretty Zelds”, she whispered, almost tearing up again. She had already cried like twice today, and it was barely past 3pm.

But it was her wedding day, and Zelda was in an awful good mood. She couldn’t hide the little smile on her lips when thinking about what was to come. “He’s going to like it, right?” she asked, more to her reflection in the mirror than to her sister.

Suddenly the door to the room opened, and Edward came in. “He will drop dead when he sees you”, he ensured her, placing a kiss on the back of her head. “You look stunning.”

Zelda was still surprised how supportive her brother had become, not just with her relationship but also with her position within the coven. Maybe he was even a little proud at this point. “Is everything ready?” she wanted to know, turning around to Edward.

He nodded reassuringly. “Diana is just getting Sabrina into her flower girl dress.”

Sabrina was the little girl Edward and Diana had adopted, and she was so sweet that Zelda _had_ to make her the flower girl. Her niece had only moved in a couple of weeks ago but was already the entire light of the family, turning everyone’s head around as soon as they laid eyes on her.

Hilda was still nervously glancing from Zelda to their brother, looking like she was more nervous than everyone else all together. She was Zelda’s maid of honour, something which had made her so happy she had started to sob at the spot. The reaction had made Zelda regret the decision for a split second, but now she was all the more happy having her sister here. The wedding was huge, since she was the High Priestess and almost the entire coven was attending, and she needed all the support she could get right now.

“You should get ready to leave”, Edward’s voice interrupted her.

Zelda nodded quickly, following him outside while Hilda held open the door for the two of them. The skirt of her dress was huge enough to make it a challenge to walk, but it was all worth it. At least she looked stunning.

The wedding was taking place at the Spellman house, outside in the yard. Nervously Zelda and Hilda gathered in the empty hall, after Edward had slipped outside to see if Sabrina and Diana were ready.

Her sister was glancing through the window next to the door to check what was happening, standing on her tip toes. “The guests are all seated”, she explained. “Edward is already standing in front at the altar!”

Zelda bit her lip, careful not to ruin her lipstick. This was all much more stressful than she had hoped. “And Faustus?” she wanted to know. Somehow she was a little scared he might not show up.

But Hilda got rid of those concerns quickly. “He’s standing next to Edward”, she replied. “Sabrina is just walking down the aisle with her flowers.”

That meant it was time for her to go, soon enough. Zelda’s heart was racing with excitement. Although it was a quick ceremony, witches hardly did more than say a few Satanic verses and exchange rings, but still… afterwards there was going to be a party, but Faustus and her had already planned to leave early and disappear to her very short one night honeymoon. She had no idea where they would go, but Faustus had ensured her that she would love it all the same.

“I think it’s time”, Hilda said now, stepping away from the window. “I’ll go first, right?” Her voice was trembling a little.

Zelda nodded firmly, pressing her lips together. She might as well faint any second. After her sister left she stood in the hall alone, risking a quick glance through the window as well to check whether Hilda had made it safely to the altar. Her sister stood next to Edward, who was smiling proudly.

Zelda’s hands were shaking when she opened the door, hesitating another brief second. _Was she really ready to do this?_ Honestly, she was freaking out a little bit. Marriage was more of a commitment than she usually liked.

But she stepped out all the same, ignoring the nervous feeling inside her. The first thing she felt were Faustus’ eyes on her, who was looking like he was seeing her for the first time. His glance travelled over the dress, and there was a little familiar smirk on his lips which she knew all too well. It made her feel safe.

The walk down the aisle seemed to last an eternity, so when Zelda finally reached the alter and wrapped her arms around his neck she felt like she had not seen him in ages.

He pressed a light kiss onto her check, lips very close to her ear. “You look incredible”, he whispered, quiet enough for no one else to hear. “I can’t wait to tear this off you.”

She couldn’t resist the smile on her lips, since this was exactly what she had expected him to say. Slowly they broke apart again, and by the look on Edward’s face she could tell that her brother also knew what Faustus had just said.

The ceremony was held by a High Priest from the neighbouring coven, but Zelda barely listened while he recited a bunch of Satanic verses. Her eyes were on Faustus, who appeared to hear as little as herself from the Priest, but was in the process of undressing her with his eyes. From time to time Edward shot the two of them an angry look, which very clearly was supposed to say _stop it and concentrate._

At some point Hilda came forward with the rings, and Zelda’s hand was shaking while Faustus slipped the ring onto her finger, just above her engagement ring. Then she did the same for him, just with a little more effort since she was so nervous to accidently drop the ring or anything alone those lines.

But she survived that part as well, and so the High Priest finally told them to seal the ritual with an unholy wedding kiss. “May Satan bless the union”, he also added.

Zelda let out a breath she didn’t knew she had held when Faustus put his arms around her, pulling her closer at the waist. “We did it”, he whispered against her lips, before joining them and flicking his tongue into her mouth.

It was probably not the most appropriate thing to make out in front of two hundred wedding guests, but she could hardly care in that moment. Her fingers were buried in the collar of his suit and she pressed herself closer against him. For a second the world might have stopped moving.

They parted only slowly, Zelda still feeling that she was smiling like an idiot. Her heart was fluttering a little. She glanced over to her brother for a second, who had turned away slightly and looked quite uncomfortable with the spot he was standing it. It was an amusing picture, actually.

The ceremony ended and the party began, taking place inside and outside the Spellman house. Zelda would have loved to disappear just then, but her duties as High Priestess forced her to do some chatting and socializing with important people first, which dragged out so much longer than intended.

When she eventually managed to flee from a dreadful conversation with one of the Council man she had no idea where her husband was, and therefore began to search the inside of the Spellman house.

Edward and Diana were sitting on the stairs with little Sabrina between them, who was half asleep from all the cake she had eaten. “Have you seen Faustus?” she asked Edward, looking around herself.

Her brother nodded. “He’s in the living room I believe.”

She smiled thankfully, making her way through the very crowded kitchen into that particular part of the house.

Indeed Faustus was there, chatting with some other teachers from the Academy. As soon as he noticed her he excused himself, coming over. “I missed you”, he greeted her, taking her into his embrace and softly kissing her neck.

Zelda rested her hands at the back of his neck, looking up to him. “Can we leave now?” she wanted to know. This was all much too crowded for her taste, besides she would much rather be alone with him right now.

He sighed, placing another kiss on her cheek. “We haven’t even started dinner yet.” His hands wandered over her back. “Did you have to wear this dress? It’s driving me crazy!”

That had been just her intention, actually. She grinned a little, biting her lip. “Yes I had to.” Her fingers played with the collar of his shirt, smoothing it out a little. “You’ll have enough time to undress me later.”

Faustus nodded. “We can go after dinner, but it needs to be all set up first.” He kissed her lips briefly, but much too short for her taste. “I have to go and speak to the cook.”

Almost disappointed she let go of him, sighing. “Hurry”, she muttered.

“I will”, he promised her, already on his way into the kitchen where he disappeared in the crowd of people.

Zelda huffed, looking around herself if she could find some champagne to make waiting a little less tiring.

It took almost two hours until dinner was served, and another until most guests were at least partly done. Zelda was on five glasses of champagne, sitting outside in the yard with Hilda who was already quite tipsy and her brother. Her sister was giggling all the time, watching Sabrina play in the yard with Edward watching over her.

Suddenly Faustus was sitting next to her on the bench, and Zelda almost had a heart attack and dropped her glass. “Finally”, she muttered, drawing on the cigarette she had just lit. The filter had a severe red lipstick stain already.

Her husband laughed, tucking a hair behind her ear. “Do you want to leave?” he asked, leaning back. “I think we’re done here.”

Zelda sighed, nodding. “Please.” She put out the cigarette on the wood of the bench, which caught her an angry look from Edward, and stood up as fast as possible in her dress.

“Don’t get into any trouble”, her brother noted, half occupied with Sabrina who had discovered a worm in the muddy air and was currently playing with it.

She rolled her eyes, turning back to Faustus. All she wanted was to be alone with him, without any distractions.

With a smirk on his lips he reached for her hand and teleported them away, the two of them arriving at the top of a building.

Zelda frowned for a moment, looking around herself while walking closer to the edge of the roof. They were on some sort of terrace, and below them an entire city was sparkling through the darkness of the night. Now she realized they were standing on top of a skyscraper. “Where are we?” she asked into the silence.

Faustus hugged her from behind, pulling her body close against his. “Dubai”, he whispered into her ear. “Mortals like to rent penthouses like this here.” His lips touched her neck for a second, enough to make her shiver.

The city looked indeed really majestic beneath them, but Zelda forced herself to look away and examine where they were for a moment. The roof stretched out for which seemed like ages, offering an outside whirl pool and then the flat itself, which had a bath and a bedroom only. Which was enough for them, anyway. “How did you get this idea?” she wanted to know, still leaned against him backwards. She rested her head against his shoulder.

Faustus shrugged. “Read it somewhere in the paper.” His hands drew little circles on her back. “Don’t you think we should test the pool?” He had reached the zip, already pulling it down halfway. His fingers on her naked skin sent shivers racing over her body.

“I think we should”, Zelda agreed, waiting until he had opened her dress entirely to pull it down from her shoulders. She wasn’t wearing a bra underneath – an unnecessary layer of fabric, anyway – and so she just slipped into the pool as soon as the dress had sunken to the floor.

Faustus followed after taking off his clothes, pulling her into his embrace and pressing her backwards against the wall of the pool. Then he kissed her, as fiercely and hungrily as ever. His hands were buried in her hair, and Zelda felt herself melting in his embrace.

For a second she pulled away, just to look him in the eyes. Above them the stars were shining. “We really did it”, she mused, pressing herself a little closer against him.

He kissed her cheek. “We did.”

It almost felt like a dream, with everything being so perfect. Zelda had never felt anything like this before in her life. Everything seemed to have fallen into place, eventually.

Faustus seemed to agree, since he kissed her again. “I love you”, he breathed against her lips, before letting his teeth nibble at her bottom lip.

She smiled into the kiss, fingers playing with the ends of his hair. “I love you too.” The words fell easily from her lips by now. It was only the truth, after all. No need to hide it anymore.

Softly he caressed her cheek. “I won’t ever let you go again, you realize that?” By now he was smiling.

Zelda huffed. “I do hope so.” Actually she wouldn’t want it any other way. Things were perfect, just the way they were right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the last chapter, i'm kinda sad since i really loved this story but i hope you liked it too and are happy with the ending! <3 if you want to send me prompts for one shots, send me an ask on my tumblr zeldaspellmaan!


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